What He Left Behind
by KanbaraGirl77
Summary: Mpreg. Shinjiro's sudden death stuns SEES as they try to collect themselves, but what Minato discovers about himself could change everything...but will it be for the better? Shinjiro x Minato. Canon character death. Spoilers for 10/4.
1. Chapter 1

Shinijro x Minato Mpreg-What He Left Behind

Chapter 1-Death of his lover

This was the last place he wanted to be at-standing at the place where Ken's mother had been killed…by his own Persona Castor, due to his recklessness. He left SEES shortly after that, trying to suppress his power.

And now…he stood across from Ken, his face full of anger and hatred toward him, holding his spear directly at him. He had called him to meet him here where they could talk alone. Shinjiro knew what he wanted to talk about and he could sense it.

"…I'm surprised you abandoned the operation. Did Minato-senpai know about this? You two are close, I know that much. Does he know you're here?" he began to talk about how Minato had fallen for the lone wolf and how close they had grown in such a short time. How they had fallen in love and became lovers, how they always fought alongside one another in Tartarus, laying waste to any Shadow in their path.

Ken tapped his foot in irritation, growling.

"…Two year ago…my mother was killed, they said it was an accident, but it wasn't! You murdered her!" he yelled in rage, raising his spear at Shinjiro's face.

Ken continued his rant, "Since then, it's been one bad thing after another. And all I get from people is sympathy, no matter where I go! What's the point in living?" The kid kept going,

"I even thought about killing myself, but Mom wouldn't have wanted that." he stared away from Shinjiro for a brief moment, then stared back in his eyes with anger, "That's why I decided that I had to find her killer-YOU!" Shinjiro felt his anger rising and felt pity for him, but did nothing to stop the child from speaking.

"You said once that you wanted to forget what happened that day…So when I found out it was a full moon today, I knew I had to confront you. Today, Mom is watching over me. I'll make you remember what you did to her! I'm gonna kill you!"

Ken readied his fighting stance, raising his weapon at Shinjiro ready to kill him.

The brown haired male stared at him and said, "…Do it."

' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' '

Minato growled at the large Shadows that he, Hamuko, Akihiko were fighting: Strength and Fortune. At the moment, they were unable to hurt the Fortune Shadow, forcing them to attack Strength. Hamuko growled when her attack missed,

"Damn it, where the hell is Shinjiro when you really need him!? I can't hit him at all!" she tried to hit Strength with another Mazio spell, but that missed as well and the large Shadow went to attack Minato with Gigantic Fist. The blue haired teen barely managed to dodge in time before a huge fist slammed into the ground in front of him.

"Fuck, that was way too close to call." he got up and rubbed his stomach absent mindly as he called his Persona Power to use Mediarama to heal everyone to near full health. Akihiko thanked him and used a buffing spell to raise his defense. He looked at the Shadow as it sagged a bit,

"We've got it close to dead, let's kill fast!" He raised his Evoker, "Polydueces! Mazio!" With his order, his Persona raised his spear and attacked Strength, dealing the killing blow. The four watched as it dissipated into nothingness. Hamuko and Minato both grinned as Fortune became visable to attack. Minato raised his sword and ran to attack, but felt that his movements were being slowed down.

"_Damnit, why am I so slow!? I don't have any debuffs on me! So why am I so god damn slow?!"_ he growled when his attack missed and he fell to the ground. He barely got up in time to avoid the giant wheel from falling on him. Akihiko healed him with Media and grabbed him away from the horse like Shadow.

"You okay, Minato? You look pale."

He asked as the wheel began to spin and watched as it stopped on the blue triangle, damaging Fortune a bit. He grinned,

"It won't be long now before we kill, then we can find Shinji and Ken." Minato nodded as he stood up and used Tarunda to lower its attack.

Soon before long, Fortune fell before Hamuko's nagitata. Fuuka's voice came in,

"Good job! Let's go back to the dorm! I hope that Shinjiro-senpei and Ken-kun are alright." With those words, the three got up and walked back to the others. Aigis ran over when she saw that Minato seemed to be feeling unwell. She put a hand on his forehead and sighed,

"Are you alright? Did the fight take it's toll on you?" she reached into her small bag and handed Minato a medicine which he took and replied,

"Yeah, I'm worn out." He looked at Mitsuru, Yukari, and Junpei,

"Did any of you find Shinjiro? Anyone?" He seemed to shrink when they shook their heads no. Junpei grumbled and rubbed his back, saying that they looked all over and couldn't find a trace of either of them. Fuuka also said that she couldn't sense them either.

"I'm sorry Minato." she looked away from him upset, "Strega didn't show up. And neither did Shinjiro-senpai or Ken-kun."

She sighed as Hamuko got closer to hug her, "It's okay, you can only do so much with Lucia."

Hamuko's words seemed to have an effect on Fuuka and she smiled back, "Thank you." she replied. Hamuko looked at Yukari,

"We should head back to the dorm for now, Koromaru and I will look for them later when the Dark Hour is over, okay?" said Yukari as she looked at Minato, who seemed to be staring up at the creepy moon in worry. Koromaru walked over and licked his hand, Minato looked down at the Shiba Inu and smiled as he petted him,

"Thank you, I needed that." He turned to the group.

"Let's go back guys."

As the group headed back, Minato kept feeling a sense of dread approaching as he rubbed his stomach again. "Please be safe…my beloved."

' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' '

When the gang had arrived back at the Iwatodai dorm, Junpei piped up and said in confusion, "Anyway why was Akihiko-san acting so weird? He seemed to be in a hurry to go look for Ken and Shinjiro-senpei? What's so special about October 4th anyway?"

The silver haired teen went to go look for the two when he realized something and had taken off. Mitsuru was silent until she gasped,

"…October the 4th… *gasp* That's right!" she came to a realization as everyone stared at her. Minato seemed to be growing more worried by the second,

"I was so caught up in the realization that I didn't realize it…" Her words made Minato grow more anxious as what she said next hit him,

"This is the day Amada's mother was killed!" Those words shocked everyone as they stared wide mouthed at her,

"You serious?!" replied Junpei. Mitsuru ignored him and looked at Fuuka, "Yamagishi, I need you to find the two of them immediately!" her slightly raised voice made Fuuka nod and summon Lucia. Minato looked at Mitsuru in panic,

"What's going on?! Tell us!" he yelled in fear as tears began to form. Mitsuru sighed and answered, "Remember when the Chairman said that Shinjiro had left one day when SEES was still young?" Minato nodded,

"Yes, you said that an accident happened." He answered. Shinjiro had refused to tell him what happened to make him leave and take those pills

' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' '

"I tried so hard to forget that day, but my mind wouldn't let me. I tried to suppress Castor with Persona suppressents, but it's not working as well. Ken…even if you do kill me, you'll come to regret it one day. Would your mother want her child to become a killer?" His words had an effect on Ken and he grew angry.

Shinjiro winced as he felt his body grow weak for a moment, a side effect from the pills he took. Ken stared at him and mocked him,

"Is that supposed to stop me? I'm not stopping." Ken raised his weapon to attack, but then someone spoke up. The voice seemed cold and lifeless,

"He is quite right, you know." The voice was revealed to be coming from a pale skinned man, named Takaya. He held a gun in his hand, a revolver.

"You shouldn't have to feel regret. After all, that is the meaning of revenge." he chuckled as Shinjiro and Ken faced him in surprise at his appearance. Ken seemed to be shocked from his words and stumbled back,

"What?" Both watched as Takaya spoke to Shinjiro, "You've been taking those pills for quite some time now…you don't have much longer." His words spoke true and Shinjiro felt it sink in him. He moved in front of Ken to protect him and Takaya seemed amused. He grinned in amusement,

"So…you wish to protect him?" he seemed confused for a moment, then turned his attention to Ken. His confusion turned to a sinister grin,

"The breath of life is faint within you, after all, when you'd kill him, you were planning to join him, were you not?" Takaya's words startled the boy as he moved a few steps back. Shinjiro glared at him as Takaya raised his gun at Ken…

*BANG* A shot rang out…but it did not hit Ken…

' ' ' ' ' ' ' '

Minato whirled around when he heard the gunshot. His eyes widened as he ran toward the noise, ignoring the yells of his friends and sister. Eventually, he came to the alley behind the Iwatodai Station and stopped to catch his breath…

' ' ' ' ' ' '

Shinjiro winced when he touched the spot where he had been hit. Ken stood in shock and horror.

"Why defend that child? What is the meaning of this?" Takaya raised his gun and aimed at Ken again, but Shinjiro blocked his shot and cried out in pain as he fell to the ground. Takaya went to try and shoot again, but he heard footsteps and left into the shadows.

Ken stood in shock and fear at what had happened. He had never thought it would turn out like this.

"Amada! Aragaki!" He heard Mitsuru's voice, but made no attempt to move. Within a matter of minutes, he heard Minato's horrified screams and saw him brush past him, grabbing his lover in horror as he saw the wounds. "I…I…" Ken tried to explain, but the words died in his throat. He saw the tears running down his face and stood there.

Junpei ran over next to Minato in equal shock, "Holy shit, what happened?!" his face showed worry and fear as he reached into his pocket and brought out a Bead. Lights flickered as it went over Shinjiro, but it soon became clear that it did not work as Shinjiro went to look at Ken.

"What's wrong? Why the long face? Isn't this what you wanted, Ken?" he chuckled as he turned to his lover's face. Minato tried to heal him with a Media spell, but Shinjiro spoke in pain as blood came out of his mouth to say,

"Sorry…" he tried to stand, but Fuuka held him down as the others came and circled him, each trying to heal him as well. "Senpai, you can't! Your wounds are too-!" she cut herself off midsentence as he stood up,

"This is how it was supposed to happen…" His steps seemed heavy as he struggled to walk, "Take care of Minato and Ken for me…." With those words, he fell to the ground taking his last breath.

Ken and Minato could do nothing but scream in anguish.


	2. Chapter 2

What He Left Behind Chapter 2-Recovery and Discovery

Everyone forced themselves to get up and go to school, except Minato and Akihiko. They were too shocked to even _think_ of going there. Ken was equally stunned and locked himself in his room out of guilt and grief.

Koromaru could do nothing to help them as he sat in the dorm. Eventually, he got restless and made his way to Ken's room "_I have to do something…I can't just leave him here like this. Beanie-san wouldn't have liked that…"_ he found himself at the door. He barked to let Ken know he was there.

Slowly but surely, the door opened and he went in to find Ken huddled in a corner sobbing. His ears fell and he went over and licked his face. The pre-teen lifted his head and looked at Koromaru, "Koromaru…I…what I did back there…can I…will he…?" He sobbed into his hands again as the Shiba Inu made his way into Ken's lap.

"I'm so sorry…"

' ' ' ' ' ' ' '

Akihiko sighed as he and Minato sat at the bar in Hagakure, the bluenette sitting to his left not saying a word. His eyes seemed to be red from crying.

"Minato…I feel just as upset and heartbroken as you do. Shinji…he really loved you. And…I'm sure he wouldn't want you to grieve forever." he said as he went to hug his friend. The younger teen nodded as he went to eat his food. "Yeah…he wouldn't."

"What…will happen with Ken? Will he come back?" he finally asked after what seemed like an eternity of silence. Akihiko sighed as he took a bite, "I don't know, but…I'm sure he feels horrible…" he said as he finished the last of his bowl. Minato sighed as he stood up to leave, Akihiko soon followed him out after he paid for the food.

The silver haired teen soon noticed that his friend looked pale. "Do you need to sit down? You look sick." Minato nodded as he and Akihiko sat down. He quickly began to tell Akihiko that he had been feeling sick and nauseous, that he had been craving weird food combinations, and that he had felt for a lack of a better term 'weird'. Akihiko raised an eyebrow and scratched the back of his head,

"I'll take you to the doctor then later today." Akihiko smiled at his friend as he helped him get up and walk. Minato looked up at the sky and rubbed his stomach…

' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' '

The auditorium was silent, no one was speaking except for Ms Toriumi. The school was holding a moment of silence for Shinjiro. Junpei looked at Yukari and Fuuka as they cried quietly. He could hear someone talking behind him,

"Hey, you know who this guy was? Didn't he skip school all the time?" muttered one of the students. The other student said rather rudely, "How should I care?" Angered, Junpei stood and promptly told the two to shut up. The two students looked at him like he was crazy. "Dude, what the hell's your problem?! This dude was just a drop out!" The brown haired student nervously looked around to try and get out of the situation he was in. Junpei glared at him and tried to answer, but Ms Toriumi cut him off. He looked at her and said,

"Teach, this dude…he was my friend's lover. I can't just sit and let them talk about Shinjiro-senpai like that!" he tried to protest the issue,

After the ceremony was done, Junpei sighed and asked the two girls if they had seen Minato or Akihiko.

"No I haven't. Odd, both never miss class usually." said Yukari as she yawned, reaching into her locker to grab her bag. Fuuka shook her head as well, saying that they had been marked absent today. Junpei frowned; Minato never missed school. He was the perfect student in many of the teacher's eyes. He rubbed the back of his head and sighed,

"With what happened, I don't blame them for skipping school." he said sadly as he went to grab his bag. A moment after he did so, he felt his cell phone buzz. Reaching into his pocket, he saw that the message was from Akihiko.

/**School out?/** The message was brief as Junpei typed in a reply, /**Yup, just leaving. Where r u and Minato-san?/**

Junpei sent the reply as he struggled to catch up to Yukari and Fuuka, who had apparently started to leave without him. Panting as he tripped a few times, he got a reply from Akihiko,

/**At Paulownia mall. Minato said he's been feeling sick lately./** This caught Junpei's attention as he felt himself sweat a little bit. "He's been sick?..." As he caught up to the others and told them about the text he had gotten from Akihiko, they seemed to become worried as well. Yukari grabbed her phone and texted Akihiko as well. Fuuka stood there and asked Junpei why Minato had hidden this from them.

The Agi user could only say this, "I don't know Fuuka-san, Minato does keep a lot of stuff from us. He has secrets just like everyone else here."

Yukari sighed as she received a text from Akihiko saying, /**Minato just threw up into a trash can. Taking him to doctor now. Meet me there in an hour./** Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion as she put away her phone,

"Minato better have a good reason for hiding this from us…Come on, let's go, you two." She grabbed her backpack and headed off to the train that would take them to the hospital. Fuuka stayed silent in worry. She really did care about Minato and hoped it wasn't her cooking that made him sick.

Junpei reassured her that couldn't be true, but it only made her worry…

' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' '

"Aigis, I'm sure Minato is fine, you don't need to…" Mitsuru stopped when she saw the determined expression on her face. She sighed and said, "…You're going even if I say no, aren't you?" She got a reply from the robot as her face grew worried for her friend that she had promised to protect always.

"Yes, I am going. What if he is injured, he'll need my help, Mitsuru-senpai. I have to protect him." Aigis looked worried and scared at the same time, so Mitsuru tried to calm her down, explaining that Akihiko was with him as they walked to Student Council. The robot calmed enough and thanked Mitsuru, leaving to go down the hall.

"_I have to find him, I know Akihiko is with him, but I still worry. He has been sick with the most unusual illness as of lately. Everything I have tried to alleviate the symptoms has not worked."_ she soon found herself at the store next to the entrance and bought some food for Minato to eat later-a whole wheat sandwich with chips.

She was about to leave the campus when she felt her own cellphone ringing. So she got it out of her pocket and answered, "Hello, this is Aigis. Who is this?"

She sighed when she heard Akihiko on the other end, but his voice sounded unusually panicked…

' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' '

Akihiko in his flustered state, tried to get words to his mouth as Minato stared at him in worry. "Is he alright?" asked Aigis on the other end.

Akihiko forced himself to answer, "Yes, he's fine, but…" He trailed off to see Minato sitting on the bathroom floor in the convenience store in Paulownia Mall, staring dumbfounded at the stick in his hand.

On the other end, Aigis grew scared and yelled, "Is he okay?! Tell me where you are and I will find you!" she yelled loud enough for Minato to hear her clearly as he still stared at the stick, "How can this happen to a guy, I…am I really?" he mumbled to himself as Aigis hung up. Akihiko came to his side and hugged him tightly to reassure him that it would be okay.

"I'm not leaving you, Minato. But for this to happen must mean…" He was cut off by sounds outside as he heard Aigis run up to the door, bursting in. She ran over to the pair when she looked at Minato's pale face. Touching him,

"Are you alright, you look pale!" she gasped. Akihiko regained himself and said, "Look at this…" he handed her the stick Minato had been holding. Looking down at it, she saw two blue lines and grew confused, asking,

"What does this mean, I am not understanding this." She looked at Minato and he said in a low voice as he hugged his stomach, "…I'm pregnant with Shinjiro's child…"


	3. Chapter 3

What He Left Behind Chapter 3-Letting the team know/Dark Hour Antics

Minato's PoV

10/6

How is this even possible? Am I dreaming?

Me, pregnant with my dead lover's child after he had just been killed?

Is this some sort of fate-filled wish that I had briefly had at the beginning of our relationship, or is it…some deeper wish? I kept staring at the stick in my hand, silently praising it for giving me this wish. Akihiko and Aigis both stared at me and I looked up, both smiling and crying in joy. She touched my shoulder gently as Akihiko started questioning how this was possible,

"You are not upset? You wish to keep it? Are you…okay?" asked Aigis after a long moment of silence. I nodded as Akihiko texted Junpei with the big news. She put her hand on my shoulder, and smiled in return. After Akihiko got a reply, I glanced over at the phone to see,

"/**…Is this some sort of practical joke, Minato? No one dared you to do this, did they?**/" was his reply. I took out my own phone as we walked out of the bathroom and sent my own reply,

"/**It isn't a joke, Junpei-san! It's really true! I…I…took it myself. 20 times, I might add! It…came up positive every time!**/"

I sent the reply and I sat down, a faint smile on my face as I calmed down from the shock of finding out I was pregnant. Akihiko went to get some food as Aigis sat down next to me, concern on her face.

"/**…Holy shit, you serious man?! You and Shinjiro-Senpai…never mind that. You keeping it then?**/" was his reply and I sighed, sending my own as Aigis talked to me,

"Minato…I will make sure that you and the baby are taken care of. I will not leave your side ever. I promise you that." I smiled and hugged her in return, thanking her for her words, hugging her back tightly as tears of joy replaced the ones of pain and sadness.

"Thanks. It means a lot to me, Aigis. I'll need all the help I can get." I said as I checked the reply from Junpei,

/**Damn, sorry about Senpai, but ol' Junpei won't let you down! You can count on me for help! Yuka-tan and Fuuka are okay with this too! I'm sure Mitsuru-senpai and the others know by now about this, but relax man. We won't leave you.**/ His response comforted me greatly as I smiled, thanking him as I spoke to Aigis about my future child…with Shinjiro.

I rubbed my stomach as I leaned back on the bench,

"Will you be alright, Minato? I am worried about you." Aigis touched me gently, a look of concern on her face.

"I'm better now. **Much** better than before. This child just gave me **salvation**…" She hugged me as I continued on,

"I can hardly remember my parents, but everyone at the dorm is my family. This child will be fine." I sighed as we stood up.

Aigis picked up the bags we had just gotten earlier as Akihiko came back. He smiled and asked,

"So, what are you hoping for-a boy or girl, Minato? Which one do you prefer?" he seemed just as excited as I was about the child. And eager to know soon. He always wanted to learn.

I smiled and answered,

"…I really would like a girl to be honest. But I would be fine with a boy too. I hope it looks like Shinji either way. Imagine a kid with his hair. Oh, and eyes like mine! I can't wait!"

Shinjiro never hated kids, he always was careful about what he did around them. He said once that he'd like to adopt someday before he died.

Akihiko laughed heartily,

"If it looks like Shinji, we'd have a fighter for sure!" I laughed in turn as Aigis smiled, running ahead. He looked at after we stopped laughing. He looked serious, "…Who are you thinking of making the godfather?"

I put my hands on my hips and stared at him like he was crazy, "…Who else but you? You and Shinji were practically brothers! Who else would I pick!? Junpei's reliable but reckless, Ken's too young, and Koromaru's a dog." He rubbed the back of his head and smiled,

"Haha, thanks, I will protect this kid for Shinji. He'd want it that way…" he smiled and commented,

"Picking Mitsuru for the godmother I'd take it?" I nodded. He smiled and said, Or are you picking Aigis?"

"This kid will be spoiled." I laughed. "Way too spoiled…" I made a mental note to tell Fuuka to make food for me…

' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' '

After we had gotten home, I saw that everyone but Ken was there. I looked at everyone and they said that Ken was not in his room. Fuuka seemed antsy and wanted to go find him immediately.

"Please let me go out and _find_ him!" She looked very concerned as Akihiko asked what had happened. I turned and told her to calm down as Mitsuru explained that they went to go talk to Ken about what had happened, and they found he had left the dorm through his window. Rubbing the bridge of my nose, I said,

"Me and Akihiko will go out and find him, Fuuka. The rest of you, I need you to go look around the city to find him, okay? Hamuko, stay here if he comes back."

I took charge like I always did in Tartarus and everyone nodded, "Please be okay, Ken-kun…please…" muttered Fuuka as she left.

…As me and Akihiko left to go scope the city, he muttered to himself. "Damn it Ken, it isn't your fault Shinji died…you don't have to share the burden alone." He stopped for a second as I looked at him, worried. He sighed,

"Never mind, I'll tell him when we get there…" he walked up to me and we looked around Paulownia Mall, running into Junpei. He hadn't found Ken from his face, but he did have some info,

"I heard some talk about a kid in the Port Island Outskirts near the movie theater. Let's go look for him there! C'mon!" he panted as he took off to lead us to where Ken was hiding. Akihiko and I followed him for a while, brushing past any of the Lost and pedestrians in our way and soon, we made our way to the outskirts of the Station.

Ken was standing there, crying and pounding his fists against the wall. He appeared to not notice us yet as we moved closer.

"…Ken? Ken?" I said softly, hoping he would notice us. Slowly he looked up at the three of us, still crying tears. Junpei sighed with relief in his voice as he scolded Ken,

"Damnit, Ken, we were tearing out our hair looking for you!" he yelled lightly as he looked Ken in the eyes. He looked beat for many reasons. Me and Akihiko walked closer as well, but Ken moved away from me and started sobbing again.

"Ken…I'm not angry with you." I tried to smile and keep my composure, restraining my eyes from crying any more than they had.

"What happened…with my lover…wasn't your fault…it was Takaya, not yours. Please, everyone is looking for you in the city. Fuuka's really worried about you." I hoped to calm him down and it seemed to be working as he stopped crying and looked up at me,

"Minato-senpai, I…I'm so sorry." he ran over to me and hugged me tightly as I rubbed his head to comfort him. It was then he noticed my bulge and looked up in confusion. Akihiko answered his question for him,

"…What? You're…how is this even?...Possible?" he looked up at me in shock. I smiled at him and rubbed his head gently, "Yeah, I'm knocked up." Hugging him tightly, I calmed him down as Junpei phoned the gang, telling him that we found him.

I let go of him and stood up, "…Do you need a moment to calm down?" I asked him and he nodded yes. I walked away for a while…

Ken's PoV

He forgave me…even though I had a role in Shinjiro's death. And now I just learned he's pregnant with his **_child_**. He can be forgiving for the most weird of things.

"Minato isn't angry with you, Ken. He's forgiven you." He stared at me softly and I looked away from him as I pounded the wall in anguish, "But…will the others forgive me?" I asked him, he nodded. "You can stay here…or you can come home. It's your choice." he said as he left. After a while, I looked up at the sky.

"I think I finally understand…mom." I looked up at the sky, "I was just using my anger as an excuse. I was just running away." My tears fell from my face again as I wiped them away. Smiling, I said,

"Mom, Shinjiro-san, I'll see this through to the end." At that moment, I felt my Persona…for a lack of a better term, change into…

"Kala-Nemi…" The name seemed both foreign and familiar. I smiled and went back to the dorm.

"Shinjiro-Senpai, I'll see this through to the end. Minato's fine."

' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' '

Normal PoV

Minato sighed and smilied when he saw Ken catch up to them. Junpei simply said, as he half-glared, half-stared at him.

"Hey, you alright now, Ken? You feeling better?" he asked as he got out his cellphone to call Fuuka. He nodded and walked up to Minato,

"Yeah, I'm okay now. Let's go back. I just needed to clear my head a bit." he said looking at Minato tiredly, winking. Blinking in confusion, Minato leaned down to Ken's level and the younger male whispered in his ear to come into his room later.

"Hey man, don't do that again, okay? You really scared everyone by doin' that." moaned Junpei in frustration as he rubbed his head. Ken nodded as he picked his pace, trying to keep up with the three taller teenagers. As the air grew colder, signaling the arrival of the Dark Hour, Minato urged them to pick up the pace as they braced themselves for a long walk back.

"I hate it when we can't use the train, it's really inconvenient, damnit! Fucking Dark Hour!" cursed Minato as he paused to catch his breath for a moment. Akihiko came up to him,

"You okay, man? You should take a break." Minato looked at the boxer and saw that he looked worried. He rarely saw that on his face, "No, I'm…fine. Just give me a-!" He was cut off by Akihiko's next sentence,

"**Minato**!" his loud yell made him yelp as Akihiko forced him to face him, beginning to scold him,

"This is your child were talking about! You. Are. Taking. A. Break. Now." he said, gently yet forcefully sitting Minato down on a seat in the train. Junpei and Ken stared at the unfolding scene as Minato got scolded by his senpai about taking care of him and the baby. "I…I…"

Minato didn't know what to say to Akihiko after his outburst. He stared at Minato for a while until he sat down and apologized for yelling. He pulled Minato closer to him and looked at his belly. The younger teen was unsure about this display of affection from Akihiko.

He soon spoke, "I wonder how far along you are?"

Minato's PoV

I blinked at his question and rubbed the back of my head, blushing furiously.

"Well…we first got together in the beginning of June after we came to the hospital…" I thought back to that day…

' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' '

_Flashback…_

_Minato's PoV_

_ Akihiko had just texted us to go to the hospital and bring the class schedule for 2-E. Junpei bragged about having been the one he asked, "Yup, nice to know I'm the one he can count on!" he grinned his usual grin. Me and Yukari rolled our eyes in amusement and Yukari piped up,_

_"Hey, since me and Minato-kun aren't busy, can we come along?" she smiled, knowing this would annoy him to no end. Junpei frowned and began to protest, _

_"Hey, it was ME he asked!"_

_' ' ' ' ' '_

_5/5_

_"Is that all, Aki?" said the man in the room. We just walked as Akihiko finished his conversation with who would become my lover…Shinjiro Aragaki. He stood up to leave and as he walked past me, he stopped to stare me in the eyes. I felt my heart beat like crazy, his gaze was like Medusa's. _

_"…Never mind." he said that and left. I stood watching the spot where he left as Junpei handed Akihiko the schedule. I was vaguely aware of them speaking, but barely heard any of them until Junpei tapped me on the shoulder._

_I jumped and yelped in panic, whirling around to glare at him, "Damnit, don't scare me like that! You gave me a heart attack!" I yelled, pissed as hell. Junpei only laughed as he backed up nervously, "Gee, I didn't mean to, but it's just…you were staring off into space. C'mon, we're leaving." he smiled._

_He walked past me and Yukari shook her head, _

_"Hey, do you want to get some food before we head back to the dorm? My treat!" I smiled and accepted her offer and we left the hospital._

_' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' '_

_6/1_

_We had just learned about another Persona user-Fuuka Yamagishi. Akihiko had just told us about her earlier and we had also learned about the ghost rumor as well. Junpei brought out a flashlight and began his "Junpei: Believe it or Don't!" gag._

_Yukari shook her head and rolled her eyes while I watched him tell the story in full detail. Apparently, he had a great talent for story telling._

_When he stopped, Mitsuru spoke up, _

_"What do you think, Akihiko?" she avoided giving her own opinion and passed the question over to Akihiko. His facial expression was that of being eager to know more._

_So the decision was to gather more info, but Junpei just said to leave it to the recently discovered ghost-phobic Yukari. I giggled at the thought of her jumping into someone's arms after seeing a ghost._

_I shook my head in amusement and left for school._

_When I was leaving however, I felt someone's eyes on me. I turned to look, but the feeling disappeared._

_' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' '_

_6/6_

_On what was a really boring Friday morning, Yukari told me what she knew. _

_"I've been feeling someone watching every time I pass through the school gate, but nothing else worthy." I said looking at her. She frowned, apparently, she had wanted more than what I told her. Groaning, she turned, thanked me, and left to go elsewhere. I chuckled and left the campus._

_That feeling of being watched returned, "Whoever's there, come on out." I spoke calmly, but no one came out and the feeling left me. Growling in irritation, I left to go to Paulownia Mall to sing karaoke._

_When I came home to the dorm, I saw everyone waiting for me in the lounge. Mitsuru looked at me, _

_"Arisato-kun, we've been waiting for you. Or rather, Yukari and Junpei have been. They wanted to speak to you about something." After she said that, she returned to her book and I walked over to where Yukari and Junpei began talking to me._

_Yukari quizzed us on what info we knew and we came to a conclusion that no ghost was involved. But that wasn't the kicker,_

_"Wait, your saying that we should go to an alleyway that has all sorts of bad thugs hanging out there, just for information?" I questioned her idea and so did Junpei, but he made it sound like it was sheer hell to even think of the idea._

_"Seriously, Yuka-tan, going in there is like strapping a steak to my face!" he waved his arms in protest, but Yukari paid him no mind and spoke again, _

_"So, we'll be in and out in no time. Junpei, you worry too much. Aren't you afraid of things you can't see?"_

_She said as she began opening the dorm door, _

_"Actually, I'm more worried about things I CAN see, like bats and knives!" he whined in protest as we left in secret. As we walked to the Port Island Station, I felt those eyes on me. I glanced a few times, but I saw no one other than me, Yukari, and the ever whiny Junpei._

_When we had arrived, we were soon spotted by the local thugs who began insulting Yukari. Unfazed, Yukari told them to leave us alone. Junpei soon got punched in the gut and it looked like things were about to get worse when we heard a familiar voice,_

_"They didn't know what they were getting into, I'll make sure they leave quietly." he said. It was the guy from the hospital who knew Akihiko. The thugs were not pleased to see him and one charged at him, but the guy simply headbutted him to the ground._

_Damn, he's strong. My heart began to beat wildly, After I had seen him at the hospital, I immediately began having wet dreams about him. I soon asked Akihiko who he was and he said he was his childhood friend._

_After the thugs ran off in fear, he was about to leave when both me and Yukari spoke up, _

_"Um, we came here for a reason." We both had said at the same time and the guy sat down. He began to tell us that Fuuka might be dead and it was her spirit that was haunting the girls. After we finished asking him about her, we were about to leave when I felt the need to ask him something. _

_"Hey, you can head back. I need to ask him something privately." Yukari and Junpei looked at me and nodded, soon leaving the area. When I was sure they had left, I turned to Akihiko's friend._

_He looked at me like I was crazy for staying here, _

_"Why didn't you leave with them?" he asked calmly, leaning back on the steps. I gulped and rubbed the back of my head, blushing._

_"Well, I wanted to ask you why you…stopped to stare at me in that hospital room. It keeps nagging me."_

_I really hoped he wouldn't think of me badly, but he merely said, _

_"You caught my eye that day." he stared me right in the eyes, freezing me to the spot, _

_"I've seen you fighting those big Shadows during the full moon." My eyes widened._

_He smirked a little as he went on, _

_"You're pretty good at fighting…and leading. Not even Mitsuru could lead like that…just who are you exactly?" He stood up, slightly taller than me. Gulping, I said my name._

_"Minato…I like that name…cute." he walked closer to me until he was face to face with me._

_"I've been watching you for a while, you've caught my eye like I said." he gently touched my chin and tilted it up, my breath caught in my throat._

_He soon leaned in and kissed me. That kiss was like lightning, but in a good way. I stood there and kissed back, unsure at first. The kiss seemed to last for a while until he pulled back a bit, _

_"Name's Shinjiro Aragaki.. And I want __**you**__." he said, pulling me closer to him. My hips connected with his own and my heart pounded wildly. I shivered, not sure if it was from the cold or his words._

' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' '

The atmosphere of the room became very awkward as Akihiko turned red, "Dude, you didn't need to say the whole thing. A simple yes would have done fine!" I saw blood coming out of his nose and he tried to cover it up, but I chuckled,

"Well, you asked…" I said.


	4. Chapter 4

What He Left Behind chapter 4-Kala-Nemi

Minato smiled as they finally got home after the Dark Hour had ended, his feet sore from walking. Akihiko insisted that he would carry him, but Minato turned down the offer and just walked back with them. Junpei yawned as he flopped down on the couch with Ken, letting out a sigh of relief,

"Man, I'm spent. That was a long night *yawn*." he raised his arms above his head and began to stretch. Ken chuckled and stood, "I wanna show you my Persona now, she's different now!" he reached for his Evoker, ignoring the confused stares from his friends,

"Nemesis changed? How? You mean like mine did?" said Akihiko as he tilted his head in confusion. Minato and Junpei both turned to stare at him. He could feel their stares pierce his soul. "What?" he asked.

Soon, Ken summoned his Persona, which had grown much bigger, her arms were a lot bigger with metal bars criss-crossing over them, and she was able to turn so easily. Kala-Nemi landed next to Ken and spoke, "…Why are you summoning me? There aren't any Shadows and I just…" she trailed off when she saw the wide eyes of Minato, Junpei, and Akihiko.

The large Persona shook her head in dismay…

' ' ' ' ' ' ' '

When the others had gotten back to the dorm, Kala-Nemi was shown off to the rest of the group.

"He's returned to normal, I see…" said Mitsuru as she walked up to her leader with a drink. She sat down as Minato smiled and nodded, "Yes, and it's…" he trailed off as he remembered what happened to his lover Shinjiro. "

…good that he's healed in only two days."

The red haired teen saw the look of upsetness in Minato's eyes, "I heard the news from Akihiko and I must say…for you to be carrying Shinjiro's child must be still hard to believe, is it not?" she smiled as Minato nodded, talking about the joy he felt when he learned he had a piece of his lover left behind. Minato smiled and nodded, drinking some water,

"It is, Mitsuru. It is, but I…I was… hoping to ask you…if you would like to be the godmother." He watched her facial expression change from amusement to confusion, "I won't force you to make your decision right away, take your time." He went back to watching everyone fawn over Kala-Nemi.


	5. Chapter 5

What He Left Behind Chapter 5-Cravings

10/7 Evening.

Minato sighed laid down on his bed, rubbing his belly. Glancing over at the calendar, he saw that he was going to have his first ultrasound in a few days. Everyone seemed to be betting on the gender of the baby. Silly if you ask me.

I felt it would be a girl and so did Akihiko.

Junpei, Fuuka, Akihiko all thought it would be a girl.

Mitsuru, Yukari, Aigis, Ken, and Koromaru thought it would be a boy instead. The Chairman kept his choice secret for now.

A grand total of $10,000 yen was put up as the prize. He chuckled; it was really silly to see them competing like this, but it showed him that his friends were willing to help him out. He knew the child would be spoiled rotten.

"You will be very loved growing up, my little one. Rest assured, I will take care of you…my daughter…my baby." he said, even though he didn't know the baby's gender yet. He yawned and shut off the lights and crawled into bed.

As he tried to go to sleep shortly after curfew, he found that he felt hungry. Ignoring it at first, he tried to shut his eyes, ***Grumble*** went his stomach. He twitched, again attempting to ignore it. Looking down at his stomach, he growled, "I am trying to **_sleep_**, please stop." pleading with the unborn child failed and he groaned, getting up out of his bed. "Fine, I'll get you food. But only if you stop bothering me for the rest of the night, okay?" he pouted; yet he couldn't help smile.

As he walked down the dorm steps, he remembered that Mitsuru would punish him if he were up later than the curfew. He glanced around him, not seeing anyone else up and awake like he was. "Good, no one saw me." he muttered as he walked into the kitchen. He licked his lips in anticipation as he opened the fridge, scanning the fridge for what his child wanted-apricots with ice cream.

"Yes, there _is_ some! Victory!" he grinned when he reached for the food. When he got ahold of the ice cream however, he felt a chilling presence behind him, tapping her foot…

' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' '

Minato's PoV

Damnit, all I wanted was some food and Mitsuru-senpai gets angry with me. I felt like I wanted to sink into the carpet so badly. "Minato, why were you up past curfew?" she asked, calmly yet in a way that would make most people run for their lives in terror. I gulped,

"…I couldn't sleep, Mitsuru. The baby…it wanted food. And it wouldn't let me sleep until I got some food." I said, pointing to the apricots and ice cream, which probably had melted by now.

She stared at me with intrigue, "Really now? The carvings are starting _already_?" she seemed confused, but soon understood and sent me off to my room with my food. As I ate, I wondered something. How far am I exactly? I first had sex with Shinjiro back in early June, so that would mean…I would be about…five months along? That didn't make sense, I'd have a bump by now, right?

I looked down at my belly. I had gained some weight in the past few weeks, as soon my small bump. Grabbing a note pad from my desk, I jotted down a time to go get an ultrasound. Figuring that everyone would want to come, I wrote down the time on the notice board for them to see when they woke up.

' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' '

10/17 Afternoon, after school

Minato's PoV

As I walked with everyone to the hospital, I heard them talking to each other:

"Hey, you think it'll be a girl? I really hope so…what do you think, Yukari-chan?" asked Fuuka. I heard Yukari think for a moment before she said, "I dunno, but it won't be a girl, I think. He's been eating way too much for it to be a girl, Fuuka. I heard that if you eat more when you're pregnant, you'll have a boy.I heard it from a friend of mine." she giggled. Hamuko smiled, she guessed the baby was a girl herself, but kept that option to herself.

Next, I heard Junpei laugh loudly.

"Fuuka's got it right, Yuka-tan, it's totally a girl, Yuka-tan! No way it could be a boy!" I rolled my eyes, I fully admit I thought the baby would be a girl myself. There were a few times that I thought it would be a boy, but my mind kept wandering to a girl.

"Hey, Minato! Wait up!" yelled Akihiko. I turned to see he was running. As he caught up to me, he asked if I was alright.

"Yeah, what's up, Aki?" He asked if I had heard any strange rumors lately. He frowned as he told me that someone had been taking photos of my twin sister lately after practice. "Junpei just told me about it the other day, he thought that you should know about it, Minato." I grew angry and said,

"Find the bastard for me, and make him _regret_ it! I won't forgive anyone taking pictures of my sister like that!" I growled in slight anger as we arrived at the hospital, finally sitting down after walking for 30 minutes. The streets can be hard on your feet sometimes, I'd admit, but I never really noticed until now.

I looked around the lobby; pretty clean for a hospital. Some of the ones I had been to growing up had been very bad with hygiene. Junpei mumbled about his aching feet as he made a big stretch, nearly hitting Akihiko in the head by accident. He growled at him, "Hey, watch it, Junpei! You almost hit me in the head there! Be more careful, damnit!" he said, rubbing his head just in case. Junpei blinked; confused.

"…What'd I do? C'mon man, I just sat down!" he asked, feigning innocence as everyone else stared at him with curiosity. He looked at the stares of our friends as they continued looking at him. I yawned as I readjusted myself, getting up to rub my ankles.

God, were they sore as shit. Am I going to expect more of this in the near future? Women make pregnancy look so easy, yet so difficult at the same time. I hope I don't turn into a whiny person, that'd be awful.

As Akihiko and Junpei continued their little argument, I got up to go use the restroom. Apparently, the kid did a number on my bladder too.

' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' '

I saw my friends outside the bathroom as I left, "Hey Minato, the doctor's ready. Let's go." said Yukari as she told me to follow her. The others had gone ahead of us. I yawned as we started walking over there,

"Hey…Yukari? Can I…ask you something…personal?" I asked slowly. I was scared; scared that something would go wrong. But she smiled and told me, "Sure, what's wrong?" she asked as we reached the room. "Um…before Shinjiro died, he said something…that bothered me." I paused before resuming, "…he said that…he wanted to marry me…when we got older."

I sniffed, "…But I'll never get my chance now, he's dead. And my parents never got a chance to meet him either. I wonder what they think of their grandchild?" I felt a tear go down my cheek as Yukari put her hand on my shoulder to comfort me, saying that they would have loved it.

As we went into the room, I was greeted by a middle-aged man in his 30's. "Hello, Minato Arisato, my name is Gino. I'll be the one who gives you the ultrasound." he said as I went to lie down on the weird…bench-like thing that you always see at doctor places. My friends were crowded in the room, all wanting to be a part of this moment. As I lay down on the…whatever it was, my mind was running with questions about the future.

What would the kid end up like? Who would he take after: Me or Shinjiro? My mind kept running and I almost didn't feel something touch my stomach. Cold gel hit my stomach and I almost jumped, "It's just for the ultrasound, don't worry about it, Minato." said Gino as the gel moved on my stomach with the help of an object. I could hear my friends talking to one another,

"Hey, you can look on the monitor now, you guys." said the doctor as the screen nearby turned on, showing a fuzzy picture of…my child. "_Shinjiro, are you watching this? It's our child!"_ I hoped that he'd give a signal that his spirit was here, but I felt nothing. The screen's picture began to get clearer and now it showed my child.

My eyes began to water as I heard my friends gasp in awe, "That's what a baby looks like inside someone?" asked Ken as I felt him lean closer, almost touching my face.

"Well now, the baby appears to be healthy." The baby on screen moved so it was facing away from the screen. "And it's very shy…Oh, what's this?" he asked as he looked closer. I frowned and everyone stared closer and more intently.

"Look closer, Minato." he said. I stared and my eyes widened. There were twins on the monitor.


	6. Chapter 6

What He Left Behind Chapter 6-Twins

Minato's Pov

10/17 afternoon

Everyone gasped behind me; even I did when the doctor said I was having twins. TWINS?! How…what? My mind couldn't wrap itself around this new fact. I thought I was only having one kid, not two! Is fate toying with me!?

The doctor thought this was funny and said,

"Many have that same reaction, Minato. You're not the first." said Gino as laughed. The twins were moving inside me, trying not to be seen on the screen. It was then Junpei spoke up,

"Can ya tell the genders? C'mon, are they girls or not!? Spill the beans already!" I looked behind me, everyone was eager to know really quick, the bet fueled even more now. I felt nervous. I hoped this end up like the bet at the beach trip; that was annoying being dragged around by Junpei. Akihiko lost the bet and had to take us all out for ramen in December.

"Yes, I believe so. Hold on a second then. I'll try to get a good look at them." he said, returning to look at the monitor and moved the thing on my stomach around. The gel didn't feel so cold anymore. He hummed for a while, leaving us all wondering if he really could tell the genders.

"Sorry, I can't tell the genders, the babies are being unreasonable. Shy ones they are." he said, reaching over to turn off the machine. I could hear everyone sigh in disappointment, they really wanted to know the genders, it seemed.

I cleaned myself up as he handed me some pills. I froze, "I…are these…these can't be…no, they look just like…" I felt uneasy taking pills that were the same color as the ones Takaya had handed him. Akihiko put his hand on my shoulder, trying to comfort me as he spoke to the doctor. Sighing felt good, I could feel all the worry leaving me.

…This was going to get harder, wasn't it? Twins…Hamuko and I are fraternal twins, she was born before me. She hugged me tightly, "Don't worry, nii-san. It'll be okay, it will be okay." she kissed my forehead and wiped my tears away that I hadn't even noticed at all. Everyone gave me signs of encouragement as we left the hospital and went to the mall to relax. Everyone seemed to be very talkative about the twins, but I frowned…

I was going to get so fat, won't I? I glared at my bump, "No more ice cream for you two, you'll grow up fat, damnit!" I continued to yell at the kids inside, but my cravings grew a lot worse, as if to toy with my feelings.

They now wanted chocolate, "Damnit, what have I been telling you two?! I said no more junk food!"

I was so into the argument that I didn't notice everyone staring at me. Suddenly, I felt very awkward and shut up, but not before Akihiko looked at me with his eyebrow raised upward. Junpei snickered while everyone else smiled at me. I couldn't help but smile back at them.


	7. Chapter 7

What He Left Behind chapter 7-Dreams of what could have been

10/18 Dark Hour

Minato's Pov

_I was fast asleep or so I thought. After the Dark Hour ended, my body feel asleep. After a while, I began dreaming and it was the most vivid dream I had in a while. Shinjiro was there right beside me, smiling more warmly than I thought could be possible on his face._

_"Hey Minato, how are you doing?" he asked, pulling me closer to him and kissing me softly on the top of my head. He pulled me onto his lap, _

_"…And how are the twins? Hopefully Aki hasn't been trying to feed you that protein shit, I hope. That shit ain't good for ya, but he never listens." he chuckled as he felt the baby move, or one of them I should say now._

_I chuckled in return, _

_"Yeah, he tried to, but that shit tastes awful. It baffles me how he lives on that crap." I said. We both laughed and the dream ended there…_

I awoke in a cold sweat, panting heavily. I glanced at the clock, blinking on and off.

Great, a **_power outage_** on top of the Dark Hour?

Fan fucking tastic. I got out of bed and went up the stairs onto the roof to think.

I wouldn't be able to sleep with that dream still in my mind, it just wasn't possible now. The wind felt nice…good thing I brought a blanket to keep warm. One of my Personas-Throne came out to talk to me.

"Hey dude, what's eating ya?" he spoke calmly, yet his voice had a raspy tone. Well, he was dead and all.

I sighed, looking up at the sky,

"…Thinking of him. Shinjiro, I wonder how he would love these twins…but Takaya ripped that from me. I won't rest until that man is dead. No matter how long it takes." I grew bitter until I felt someone hug me. I glanced over my shoulder to see Aigis there, looking rather worried. She stared at me,

"Minato, it is not normal for you to be up here all on your own, is there something wrong? Please, tell me." she sat down next to me, still looking right into my eyes. She wasn't going to leave until she got an answer, so I started talking,

"…Were you thinking of Shinjiro? He has been on your mind a lot." she asked softly, almost as if she was afraid to ask me the question. She-like everyone else, liked Shinjiro and was sad to see him die so suddenly like that. I nodded,

"I miss him so much. Takaya…that bastard." My fists tightened, like I wanted to go out, find the weirdo, and kill him with my Personas, but the babies would be hurt. He'd kill me and them too. Aigis nodded,

"He will pay for his crimes." she said simply. She saw Throne, "…I see your Personas have kept you sane in your mourning…" she said as Throne nodded, soon leaving to go…wherever Personas went when not being used by us. I smiled,

"It is getting late, it is best you turn in." she said, getting up and extending her hand to me. I grabbed it and got up on my feet. She walked me to my room and said good night to me. I sighed as I crawled into bed and soon fell asleep.

' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' '

Normal PoV

Aigis sighed as she crept into the room of her pregnant best friend, concerned that he may not get enough sleep. So she had decided to keep him company and sat herself on the floor next to his bed. She watched as he slept, snoring and half-covered, his left hand and arm draping over the side. It brought a smile to her face as she gently placed the arm back on the bed.

"Minato…" she whispered as she looked at his baby bump, showing just enough so people could see it, but not from far away. She moved a little bit closer, hoping she could get a chance to see if the babies kicked._ "The doctor had said they would be moving soon."_ she thought, moving her hand closer.

She couldn't help but gasp as she saw Minato waking up…

' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' '

Minato's PoV

Wha…? I felt the presence of someone over me. Opening my eyes, I saw Aigis hovering over me, her hand over my stomach in mid air. "Aigis…why are you in my room? Didn't you go back after you walked me here?" I asked sleepily as she nodded.

Soon, I felt a faint movement in my stomach and gasped. "Aigis, the twins just kicked! Here, your hand!" I put her hand on the spot I felt the movement. She smiled as she felt one of them moving, and quite a lot at that. It felt like it was doing somersaults in there!

"Wow…they're moving!" her eyes widened in amazement as she moved her hands back and forth, seeing if she could touch or feel them. I moved up onto my elbows and let out a contented sigh. Things were looking up for now…


	8. Chapter 8

What He Left Behind chapter 8-Painful memories

(Chidori x Junpei, Takaya x Jin)

(Note: This is setting up for the planned sequel in the future, hence the reason Souji is in the flashbacks and story. He may or may not be joining SEES. Major plots ahead, so grab the popcorn!)

10/19 Dark Hour

A white-haired man stared up at the yellow moon, frowning as he felt chest pains near his left hip. His friend, a black haired man sat next to him talking about what he information he had gathered. "Seems like that bastard we killed had a lover and two unborn kids he left behind. He's one of _them_, Takaya. One of those traitors." he sat down and opened his computer to show him the data. Takaya frowned when he saw Minato's picture on the screen, on a blogging site.

This amused him; the very man he had killed was this boy's lover…and the father of his unborn children. He touched the screen and traced the finger over the letters of the teen's name-Minato Arisato, the leader of the group bent on destroying the Dark Hour, their power, and the Tower of Demise, the place he had a strong connection to when he was younger along with Jin, Chidori, and one other boy, a child barely able to speak. A silver haired boy.

Ah yes, the boy he knew as Souji Seta…the boy he had envied so much. He had gotten his Persona under control so well and so easily, but he had gone missing some time ago and he was never heard from again.

' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' '

_Normal PoV_

_?/?/1996 Nighttime_

_A teenage Takaya was bound in handcuffs and was lead by two women in white clothes. Pain coursed through him as he was shoved to the ground, "Stay here, we have plans for you, Takaya." one of them said; the bitch had no idea who she had messed with. The other one left elsewhere, doing god knows what._

_"…So they grabbed someone new, eh?" spoke a voice, male and rather snobby at that. The white haired teen snorted in disgust and moved himself to the shadows, where he liked to be alone. The male laughed, pissing him off even more. How would he know what he'd been through?_

_"…Just what do you want, peasant?" he snorted as he saw the male get angry, get up and…_

_He was stopped by a chain tethered to the wall and was promptly pulled to the ground, falling flat on his face. Takaya could hear some bone break and he chuckled. The fool didn't notice the chain, or had he forgotten? Either way, it was fucking amusing to Takaya. He liked seeing others in pain._

_The man looked up, complete with bloody nose and broken teeth. "…you really are a fool, you damn idiot. But so amusing…"_

_The new voice came from the shadows close to Takaya. Both glanced at the young boy, barely a teen, complete with jet-black hair, glasses, and a suitcase behind him. The previous man grew angry and snarled, trying in vain to kill the teen._

_"Fool…don't you realize the meaning of being chained?" he spoke, his glasses gleaming in what little light there was. Footsteps could be heard coming from the distance, "…It means that you're next, asshole."_

_The man's eyes grew wide as he was picked up by the scientist and dragged away into a room that caught Takaya's interest,_

_"Everyone who's taken down that path never comes back alive…" said the teen next to him. Takaya asked rather curiously, "…And why would that be, kid?" he didn't hate this kid nearly as much as he thought he would. He was just like him in a way, always in the shadows and alone._

_The teen chuckled, "They're experimenting on us…they want us to awaken to some power they call Persona by force." He pulled out a picture of a red-haired child, _

_"This is his granddaughter, Mitsuru. Her grandfather is gathering children and teens of the street and experimenting on them. That guy's the 50__th__ one so far…." his eyes flashed,_

_"…I was the first and am the only one to live. I have that power now…the power called Persona…"_

_Weeks passed as Takaya and his…new friend who called himself Jin got to know each other. Lately, they had meet someone called Chidori, who had also survived. And she had a small boy with silver hair behind her who she called Souji. Her eyes teared up; she hadn't been completely broken yet, her eyes full of life still._

_"His parents abandoned him here; they let him be experimented on." The boy shook at the thought of what had happened to him but could not understand yet. Takaya stared at him. He was rather small and he couldn't recall anyone younger that had been used on this bloody experiment. Jin spoke with apathy, "…I see, so they're grabbing kids from rich families now, that's fucking fantastic. I swear, rich people have no sympathy for the poor and homeless." he didn't care that he had just sworn in front of Souji, he'd learn the words anyway somehow. He'd learn them._

_Takaya smirked; this boy could be useful to them. Chidori saw this and tried to convince him, but the young man said otherwise. A scream caught his attention as he heard someone else being experimented on,_

_"…I'm next." he said. He was the only one not used for this mess yet as Chidori was the most recent, or was the most recent one until this person screamed._

_He was right, they came for him next, but he didn't resist. He wouldn't die, not here. He still had plans and these people would be the first to suffer for it._

_He would not die._

_' ' ' ' ' ' '_

_He woke up in pain as he saw Jin, Chidori, and the brat hover over him. _

_"You're alive…shit, you look horrible." said Jin, his eyes wet with tears as he hugged Takaya. Chidori smiled and nodded, "He's strong…and alive!" she hugged Souji as she remembered what they did to him._

_A silence fell in their cell. They were the only ones not killed and, "…They'll train us to use our Personas, I guess…that's what they want from us. That's why they brought us off of the street, so no one even cares that we die." Jin stared at Souji and briefly felt a pain of guilt in his gut. This kid was too young, much too young. Takaya stared at the wall for a while, not saying anything. Until an idea came to him, they would escape somehow, after they learned how to use their Personas_

_If only he'd known how difficult it would be. His first time using his Persona-Hypno was a disaster, killing a scientist with red hair. He later learned that she was the mother of Mitsuru and wife of Takeharu Kirijo. The brat cried over her dead body when she found out and Takaya watched her sobbing. God, the bitch had been so annoying._

_…Yet he felt no guilt for killing her, instead feeling a whole new emotion inside…bloodlust, hatred, anger, rage and so much more. This woman was the first to suffer, and there would be more along the way._

_He, Chidori, Jin…and the kid were trained to use their Personas and handed white pills to take to control them. Yet the brat Mitsuru could use hers without taking them. Souji was still too young, but had not used his just yet. Why, no one knew. But he'd use his someday and the white-haired man looked rather forward to it._

_' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' '_

_?/?/1999_

_One day after their training, the four had been put inside a different room, complete with four glass walls and a single table, four guns placed on it. A voice came over the loudspeakers,_

_"Those are your Evokers, you three. You've used them in practice, but today…today, you'll be exploring Tartarus for the first time. We expect great progress from you today, you three." the voice didn't mention Souji for some reason._

_Takaya's eyes lit up; he'd heard the name and seen the tower a few times with Chidori and Jin and he began to call a name he grew fond of-The Tower of Demise._

_It was so beautiful to him, so unusual. Just like the Dark Hour, so amazing…yet so misunderstood. Everyone feared it, but not him. He loved it, everyone else vanished and left him alone with Jin and Chidori and the brat, all alone. He wanted that silence and hated it when it left after an hour._

_Jin's voice snapped him out of his daydream, "Hey Takaya, we're leaving. Come on." Jin had his new Evoker in a holder along with Chidori. Even Souji had one…but he was only seven years old. But did that matter to him? No, it didn't and he walked by him, not giving him a second glance._

_As Jin and Takaya left, Chidori looked down at Souji, who was shaking. "Chidori…nee-san…I'm scared!" he squeaked in fear as she took his hand and led him out the door. His eyes had fear in them, much more than she had ever seen in them, and she hugged him, taking him into his arms. _

_"Will…will we be fighting today? I don't wanna hurt anyone. I just want to live in peace." he hated pain._

_Chidori said nothing, _

_"…I hate this place. I want out of here. Takaya said the same thing. He hates it here." He kept talking as they caught up with the others. She could give no comfort except holding him in her arms, and rubbing his head,_

_"Souji, relax…. Calm down." Takaya's voice broke her daze as he stared at them with a grin that made her scared, "Today's the day we break free. Break free from this hell." His eyes lit up as he stared at Takaya in wonder,_

_"They won't stand a chance. I'll destroy them all." Souji squeaked; that'd mean he'd kill them. Just like he had killed that woman a while ago. As they got in the car and drove to Gekkokhan High, he felt so scared. Just like the time his parents left him alone, cold, and scared in a world he hated._

_As the Dark Hour came around and the Tower of Demise came into being again like it always did, he began to shake. Something bad would happen tonight for sure. He looked up at his only source of comfort who held him tightly. She whispered into his ear,_

_"Don't worry, I'll make sure you won't have to kill __**anyone**__. I'll do all of the work!" she whispered, hugging him tightly close to her body. The car soon stopped and they were ordered to get outside by someone. Jin looked at Takaya, and then at Chidori and Souji. _

_"Get ready…" he hissed, getting his Evoker ready. Chidori did the same, but Souji didn't. He couldn't summon a Persona, so why was he being used like this? He didn't like it._

_"Get out." the man ordered calmly; almost too calmly. The four stayed exactly where they were and refused to move. The man raised his eyebrow in slight surprise yet didn't budge, waiting for them to come out of the car. Takaya moved his hand to where he held a gun in his holder…yet it was not holding his Evoker._

_It was a revolver that he had snatched from a guard he'd killed earlier. Souji said nothing and grabbed Chidori's shoulder in fear of what was about to happen._

_"Hey, what are you-!" the man was unable to finish his sentence before Takaya pulled out the gun and shot him clean through his heart, killing him instantly. Souji screamed in fear as Takaya fumbled to get the door open. Jin was helping him and with his help, Takaya was able to get the door open. They ran out of the car and were stopped by some of Takeharu's men._

_"Stop! Cease your futile struggle!" yelled one of them, pointing his gun right at Takaya. But Takaya wasn't frightened by this and laughed manically, grabbing his gun and firing a shot at him. His eyes were full of bloodlust as he continued his rampage, even going as far as to use his Persona Hypno on them._

_Jin used his own Persona, one he called Moros and killed a few men and women. Chidori stayed where she was holding Souji who was crying in panic and fear of what was going on around him. "Make it stop, I don't like killing!" he cried, yet Chidori could do nothing but watch her two friends go on a killing spree._

_After it was all over, Takaya calmly put his gun and Evoker away. He chuckled, _

_"We did it…" he laughed louder, "We're __**free**__!" he yelled, throwing his hands into the air. Jin smirked; pleased with the bloodshed he helped create._

_"Let's get out of here." Said Chidori after a long silence, walking over and holding Souji's hand as he shook in fear. She knew she had to get Souji away from this life somehow, but as the four wandered around Tatsumi Port Island, she knew now would be a bad time for that. She had to get Souji away from this life, she had to…_

_' ' ' ' ' ' '_

_Weeks had passed since their rebellion against the Kirijo Group and the four had made a home under the Moonlight Bridge, hidden from the world and everyone else. Souji had been recovering after he had gotten into a fight with a Shadow…_

_He had finally awakened to his Persona on his own, without the need of those white pills. Jin had learned of the side effects: chest pains and a shorter lifespan._

_His Persona…was Izanagi, god of thunder. And he could __**control**__ it. That pleased Takaya; he'd use that power for his own gain. Use it against the Kirijo group. Use it to destroy them all. Make them pay for using them as lab rats._

_' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' '_

_As they grew used to their normal life, something exploded on top of the Bridge. Jin and Chidori ran outside to see what had happened. "Holy shit, there was an explosion! What the hell was that?!" cursed Jin as he grabbed some binoculars and started checking out what was going on up there. Jin gasped when he saw a robot fighting a powerful Shadow all on its own. He hissed and spat, _

_"It's __**them**__! They've sent a robot after us! An Anti-Shadow weapon!" he growled; this was not good. This was the edge of the Island, the bridge separating it from the mainland Japan._

_And they had no escape if the robot came after them. They'd only be able to go back the way they came and that could lead them to their deaths at the hands of the Kirijo Group. Jin reached for his Evoker, but Takaya stopped him, pointing to the large Shadow that the robot was fighting. "We have no need for our Personas, Jin. That robot has its hands quite full." He grinned; the robot wasn't after them. It was after the Shadow it was fighting._

_Souji, hidden in the makeshift home the four shared, shook in fear as he watched the battle through a small hole in the wall. He winced when he saw the robot-a female one, take a huge hit to the chest and fell to the ground._

_"See, the robot has no chance." spoke Takaya as he walked inside their home and sat down, putting his feet up. Noticing that Souji was looking outside, he chuckled. _

_"Enjoying the show, Souji?" he hung on the last word, as if he had grown tired of babysitting the brat._

_The boy froze, unsure how to answer him. Soon, the man came over and glanced through the hole Souji was looking through. "Ah, so the robot has won. But it seems to have gone bad, it probably won't work after taking that much damage. We have no reason to worry now." he said, leaving to go back to his spot._

_Jin and Chidori came back inside and sat down. "The police are coming for sure." said Chidori as she grabbed a drink out of the makeshift cooler they made. She looked at the can for a while, "Medea sensed someone up there-a boy…a boy Souji's age, along with a girl too." she looked up at the celling as she continued,_

_"The Shadow the robot was fighting seems to have vanished as well. Just…vanished into thin air." she shook her head; so young and to have lost so much innocence._

_Jin leaned over a little, "I see, so the Shadow must have been destroyed then." He yawned and laid down in his bed, closing his eyes. He said one last thing before falling asleep, "…So they were Souji's age, eh?" Chidori nodded, but Jin and Takaya had both fallen asleep. She, however, was nowhere near tired. The thought of a child Souji's age…no, how could it __**be possible**__? No one could survive having a Shadow that size sealed inside them would __**survive**__…_

"Hey Nee-san…" She looked at Souji, who was crying silently. She touched him gently, "…I don't want to run anymore. I want a family. I want to forget this even _**happened!**__"_

_Those words stuck with all of them that day. The next day, Chidori snuck away with Souji and took him to the orphanage, lying and saying his parents had died when he was three and she was his older sister._

_"So…you are unable to take care of your brother anymore, Chidori?" she nodded, gripping Souji's hand tightly, holding back the urge to cry. This would be the last time she ever saw Souji. He didn't want to live a life of pain anymore and she would grant him that wish. Even if it broke her heart to do so._

_The man signed the paper, "We'll take him now." he said, grabbing Souji's hand, making Chidori let go of him. Souji looked at her, _

_"Nee-san…Goodbye…" he said as the man lead him away from the only one who had ever loved him. Chidori couldn't but cry out loud and she ran outside, away from this place. Away from the boy she had grown to love as a __**brother**__…and as a __**son**__…_

_Chidori soon stopped when she saw Takaya and Jin, waiting for her. Jin sighed, "So, he's off our hands?" he asked, somewhat curious, even though he knew the answer. Chidori nodded, wiping her tears away. She couldn't be weak anymore. She had to be strong, for Souji's sake. Someday, when this __**hell**__ was all over, she'd come back for him and they'd be a happy family._

_…If only she'd known what awaited for her. The next week, they had been hired to kill someone. They would do this for the money; Takaya didn't care how he killed them as long as the client was satisfied. Jin gathered the information and she would hunt them down…hunt them down like animals…_

_Soon, she stopped crying after the people were killed. Apathy became the way she had coped with life now. Death was a normalcy to her life._

_The years went on as the memory of Souji stayed with her. It was the only thing keeping her sane anymore. Both Takaya and Jin had gone insane from bloodlust, even going as far as wanting the world to end. They had gone mad._

' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' '

"…Geez, you really were daydreaming, Takaya." snarked Jin as he pounced on his friend…or lover. Whatever they were, it didn't matter. Chidoriwasn't with them anymore and was now in the hospital. Souji had long been forgotten for the most part.

If only they knew that Souji was alive…

' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' '

_Souji sighed as he wrapped himself up in the covers of his new bed. It was more comfy than the one back under the bridge, but it wasn't home to him. No place could be home to him. He was doomed to be a wanderer for life. Just as Souji was about to fall asleep, a hand shook him. He jumped and fell off the bed,_

_"Hey, not cool!" he yelled, trying to get up on his elbows. When he saw who had shaken him, he gasped._

_"Haven't you seen another kid your age before, kid?" asked the boy in front of him. The boy had silver hair just like him, but it was lighter. A smaller girl with the same hair color was standing behind him along with a boy with brow hair, glaring at him._

_"No, I haven't." he stood up to stare them in the face. He was surprised when the boy stuck out his hand, "Name's Akihiko, and this…" he moved a bit so the girl wasn't behind him. "…Is my little sister Miki. And this is my friend Shinjiro." the boy snorted and rolled his eyes. Souji felt nervous around him,_

_"Don't worry, he's not going to kill you." that praise made him wince and the boy saw it, "Oh…sorry if that bothered you…" Souji finished for him, "My name's Souji Seta." he smiled; this could be the start of a better life. When he and his new friends went to go to the mess hall, he briefly saw the boy and girl from last night that Chidori said she saw on the bridge._

_He shook his head; no, stop thinking like that, he thought. This was his life __**now**__, __**not**__ the life he had led up until now. It was a bad dream to him._

_As time went on, Souji soon began to forget the hell he had been though the past four years and began to believe that he had always been here in the orphanage. It felt like that his old life had been a horrible dream that had lingered in his dream._

_He had even found out that Akihiko and Miki were his brother and sister, born before him to the same parents that had __**abandoned**__ him when he was three years old. He vaguely remembered them as a distant memory, but had forgotten them as time had gone on. Shinjiro even felt like a brother to him, only smiling around him and his siblings. He finally felt like he was complete, but a red haired girl kept entering his dreams. But he shoved them away._

_They did all sorts of things together, like play in the sandbox or go to the movies whenever they had enough money to do so._

_Akihiko smirked; he had this sudden smirk whenever he had something planned. He, along with Shinjiro and Souji, had planned to steal a doll from the store in the Iwatodai Strip mall. Souji had reservations about this; he __**hated**__ stealing from others. He always preferred earning his stuff._

_"What's wrong, brother?" asked Akihiko as he came over with a small bag. Souji hesitated before answering, "This is wrong, we shouldn't steal from others-" he was cut off when Akihiko and Shinjiro snuck inside the store to get the doll. The doll Miki wanted so badly that they resorted to stealing. He hid behind a trashcan, he just hoped they wouldn't get hurt._

_Boy, was he wrong. When they ran outside, both were covered in bruises. Akihiko had the doll in his hand, crying. Souji looked horrified and reached into his bag to get some band-aids. "You reckless fool." He said as he began working on cleaning his brother's wounds, ignoring the excuses he was saying to justify his reasons for stealing. Shinjiro growled in irritation as his blood brother went on and on. He really was an idiot sometimes and always rushed ahead before thinking like Souji did._

_Souji always thought up a plan before doing anything, even when the plan failed at times. When Souji had finished fixing up the injuries, he asked, "Why don't you return the doll?" he knew this was a stupid question to ask, but he asked it anyway. Akihiko frowned, confused._

_"But we went through all that hell to get for her! Why should…" he was cut off when he saw their sister standing near the staircase, eyes widened in shock. He hid the doll behind him, but she had already seen it. She walked over, now angry and upset that her older brothers would do such a thing._

_"M-m-miki, what are you doing here?!" he asked, scared that she would tattle on them all. But she instead took the doll out of his hands and looked at it in wonder and sadness, running her hands all over it as she looked at it. Akihiko and Shinjiro both leaned in, eager to know her reaction._

_They soon got one from her. "YOU IDIOTS!" she slapped them both in the face, angrier than she had been beforehand. Akihiko and Shinjiro both looked shocked and startled as they touched their faces. Miki began to cry,_

_"You didn't have to steal the damn thing!" she threw at Akihiko's face and ran away. Souji gulped; he made a mental note not to anger her anytime soon. He went over to his brothers and helped them up, "…Told you this was a bad idea, brother…" he said as he helped up Shinjiro onto his feet. Akihiko sighed as he looked at the doll, upset that his brother's idea had gone so badly. He really wanted to get this doll for her; he wanted to get for her so badly that he went to steal one, dragging his brothers into this mess. He sighed, and then looked at the store,_

_"Give it back." said Shinjiro frowning and wincing at his now-swollen face where Miki had slapped him. He just wanted this day to be over now already; it had felt like forever since he ate breakfast. Yawning, he walked over to Souji and put his hand on his shoulder, "Let's go home." he said, leaving to go down the stairs. Souji watched him leave and shook his head._

_This day had been really bad._

_If he only knew how much worse it was going to be…_

_' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' '_

_"What the hell?! What" yelled Akihiko when he had arrived at the orphanage's steps. Shinjiro and Souji were too stunned to speak as they saw the state of the orphanage, burning in flames and falling apart. The air was thick with smoke and ash, turning the sky dark. People were screaming all around them, running from the flames._

_"You three need to get out of here!" yelled a lady, who was carrying two unconscious kids in her arms, one with blue hair and one with reddish-brown hair. _

_She tried to grab Akihiko's hand, but he pulled away in panic, "Where's Miki?!" he yelled in fear. She had run back to the orphanage after she threw the doll at him. She could be…  
"NO!" he yelled when he realized where she was, inside the building. He tried to go inside, but the woman grabbed him. Shinjiro tried to tell him to run, but his friend wouldn't listen. "It's too dangerous, Aki! You'll be killed!" he yelled, crying tears of fear. He was scared too. Just how did this happen? As they were about to run away, they realized Souji wasn't with them._

_"SOUJI! NO!" yelled Akihiko in panic when he saw his little brother run inside the flaming building, a determined look in his eyes._

_"BROTHER!"_

_' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' '_

_"MIKI! WHERE ARE YOU!?" yelled Souji in panic as he ran through the burning building, wiping away soot off of his face. Glass broke near him, scratching his arm. He resisted the urge to cry and kept looking for her. He looked in the mess hall, but she wasn't there. Just as he was about to leave to look elsewhere, he caught a glimpse of her, hiding under the table in the back._

_"HELP ME!" she screamed, huddling in a ball as the world fell apart around her. Souji ran over to her and hugged her, "Don't worry, I'm here!...I'm here…" he yelled, pulling her close. She hugged back and the two ran out from under the table. They ran as fast as they could to the front door._

_"We're almost there! C'mon!" yelled Souji, pulling his sister's hand as hard as he could. He could feel her stumble and trip. She was coughing too. But as they were about to go outside…_

_"BROTHER, WATCH OUT!" she yelled, pushing him away as a large piece of wood fell from the celling, falling on top of her. Souji screamed and tried to help her, but he felt himself grow heavy and he fell to the ground. The last thing he saw was a man in an orange suit pick up Miki and blacked out…_

_' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' _

_When he awoke, he was in the hospital. Pain wracked his body as he made even the smallest movement. Soon, he realized someone was holding his hand. Rather tightly at that, he noted as he looked over to his right. Akihiko let out a sigh of relief and cried, his voice cracking. "Brother, you're alright!" He smiled as Shinjiro hugged him gently, making sure not to hurt him. Souji hugged back as best he could with his wounds._

_Akihiko sighed sadly, thinking of the news they told him and Shinji before Souji was found. Miki had gone missing and was most likely dead. The thought that he could have lost his brother was too much for him._

_Souji saw him crying and asked where their sister was and he froze. Souji asked again, but his brother didn't answer, still lost in his grief to answer him. What would he think of the news? He looked at the burns on his brother's back and winced. Souji had tried to save her, but he still couldn't bring himself to tell him._

_Shinjiro, who had been silent this whole time, gathered up what courage he had and answered, "…She's gone missing, Sou-kun." he answered as he watched both his blood brothers freeze with horror._

_' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' '_

10/19/2009

1:00 am

Souji woke up in a cold sweat; his body shaking from the memories he had dreamed of. He glanced at the clock next to him, blinking on and off,

"Great, a power outage…and at this time of night to boot." he grumbled, got up, and went to go fix the clock. He checked his music player's clock and reset it. When he was done, he sighed with relief. He had calmed down since he had woken up from his nightmare.

It had been some time since he had tried to save his sister from the fire. He still had the wounds on his back to remind him of that, yet he wanted to forget what had happened.

His elder brother Akihiko and blood brother Shinjiro had been separated from him. But he had managed to find out where they had been staying and was going to say hello to the pair. It had been some time since he had seen them after all, so it would be great to see them again.

' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' '

10/19 Afternoon.

Souji looked up at the Dorm, and then back at his paper. He had been given a map to the place, but it was of little help to him. It might as well been Greek to him at that point. He summoned his courage and knocked on the door.

"Hello?" he spoke up, hoping that someone inside would hear him knocking on the door. It was rather cold and he wanted to get inside soon. To his pleasant surprise, the door opened and he saw Akihiko standing there right behind it, smiling at his little brother. Souji laughed,

"Sorry it took me so long to find you, brother. The foster care system's a bit of a bitch to figure out. Took me forever to get out of it." he said, hugging his brother and walked inside with his luggage. Akihiko laughed as his brother told him what had happened to him the past few years that they had not seen each other.

The dorm, to Souji, seemed to be much bigger than the last place he had been living at with his last guardian. And he liked it; it felt like home to him already. He looked around him, memorizing what was in the lounge. He frowned when he didn't see Shinjiro come to greet him.

' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' '

Akihiko's PoV

I saw the look of confusion on my brother's face when he did not see Shinji come to say hello. Knots began to form in my stomach; just how could I tell him that our blood brother was dead? That he had been murdered by a madman?

Looking up, I saw that Souji had gone and sat down in one of the chairs. Ever the naïve one, he was.

He smiled at me and asked the question I was dreading, "Where's Shinji?" he looked around curiously wondering where Shinjiro was, "He is living here, right Akihiko? You said he was, so where is he? Shouldn't he be here greeting me?" he finished, still smiling, not even noticing the pained expression on my face. When he opened his eyes, he quickly grew worried and came over to me, touching my shoulder in concern.

"…Akihiko, is something wrong? You've been acting off ever since I came in." he said, voice slightly cracking and worried.

I clenched my fists and turned away from looking at him directly. Bad idea. He grabbed my head and forced me to look at him in the eyes, "Tell me **_now_**." he ordered…I couldn't lie any longer to him, so I told him what had transpired on October 4th. My heart broke when I saw the destroyed look in his eyes as he backed up in horror of what I had just told him.

He shook his head in denial, but I told him what truth I could. He fell to his knees, "No…Shinji…he was…oh my god…NO!" he cried out, grabbing onto me tightly as if I would die too. I could do nothing but hold him and cry with him…

' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' '

Minato's PoV

Poor guy, learning about my lover's death like this. It broke my heart to see Akihiko like this along with his brother. Subconsciously, my hand went to my baby bump and rubbed it gently, calming the active twins inside me. I was starting to show now.

"Man, I feel sorry for Souji-kun…" spoke Fuuka as walked up next to me, a sad look in her eyes as I nodded. Everyone else had been eager to meet the younger brother of Akihiko, but the cheer had been sucked out when we realized Souji didn't know about what had happened to his blood brother.

"Shouldn't we be saying hello to him? Seems kinda jerkish not to say hi." commented Junpei. He was right; everyone wanted to say hello. Hamuko nudged me, and then walked past me to say hello to Souji. She was always the more talkative one out of the two of us. Soon, the rest of us followed her lead and said hello.

Souji soon smiled and wiped his tears away, greeting each one of us in turn. After we finished our introductions, we told him of what Shinjiro had left behind.

He touched my stomach in awe and rubbed it, "He was your lover?" he asked for the 10th time, still in shock of learning about my unborn twins. I nodded sadly, "Oh, sorry if that made you upset, Minato…I hadn't thought of your feelings." he said, somewhat unhappy with what he had said about Shinjiro.

"It's no problem." I smiled at him, hoping to make him feel better. At that moment, the twins decided to kick right where Souji's hand was. He gasped, "One of them just kicked!" he looked at everyone in awe, telling them what he felt. Soon, everyone crowded around me, each wanting to feel them kicking.

"Man, that feels so weird! It's like they sense us talking or something!" exclaimed Junpei in his usual manner, excited just like a little kid would be when he or she got candy. Fuuka was the next to feel them kicking and she squealed,

"…It's like they can hear us inside there…" she said as one of the twins gave a rather hard kick to my ribs. "That must have hurt, huh? That kick was so strong…"" said Yukari as she got her turn to feel the twins kicking, smiling as they responded to her touch, kicking right as she put her hand on my stomach.

She smiled as they moved around, giggling as she felt them moving. I smiled at her as I shifted into a more comfortable position for my friends to touch my belly. I chuckled; they really loved the twins. Part of me hoped they wouldn't spoil them too much when they were born, but then again; that was a bit too much to ask of them.

I glanced at Souji, who had moved back so the others could touch my belly. He really was being quiet for some reason…so I motioned for him to come closer so I could comfort him a bit. Wrapping my arms around him and rubbing his back, I soothed his unstable nerves as the rest of my friends-save Aigis got a chance to feel the twins kicking.

A couple hours later…

Mitsuru's PoV

So Akihiko's younger brother, Souji Seta, had moved into the dorm and had just met the Chairman, shaking hands with him as they talked about where his room would be. I watched him closely; he really did look similar to Akihiko, that's for sure. But I worried about him…what if he died like Shinjiro did? Violence outside of fighting Shadows is something I wish to avoid again.

My father had said something similar when I had last talked with him over the phone. Agreeing with me, he ordered me to keep a close eye on Souji. Death had been a constant in my life, but I hated it.

When the introductions were over, he came over to me and said hello. I chuckled, "It certainly is nice to finally meet you in person, Souji Seta. Akihiko has told me a lot about you." he smiled and rubbed the back of his head. He was rather shy, it seemed. I decided not to ask questions further.

' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' '

Souji's PoV

This place is really big; a lot bigger than where I had last lived with my previous guardian-a nice woman but she was rather…odd. Shaking my head, I told myself to forget her. I never really liked her anyway. With the help of my brother and a guy named Junpei, I was able to get my luggage up to the 3rd floor where my room was. I looked at my brother to thank him, but what I saw in his eyes quickly made me ask what was wrong.

Junpei answered for my brother, his voice somewhat solemn and melancholy. "This is where Shinjiro-senpai was staying before…you know…" he didn't finish. He didn't need to finish. I knew what he meant by that incomplete sentence. The following silence was awkward, until I attempted to open the door. Creaking as I opened it, I felt…an aura of some kind, but what kind of aura, I didn't know.

"It's kind of barren, isn't it? Shinji liked it that way for whatever reason. Why, I'll never know, and what's weirder…is that he…had that." I turned to what my brother was talking about-an axe propped up against a barren desk.

Also in the room was a bed with no covers. Did Shinji like his room empty? Why have it this way?

Junpei put his hand on my shoulder and grinned, "If ya need anything, give a shout. Me and Akihiko-senpai will outside in the lounge, okay?" with that, they left the room and I was now alone to think about stuff. My eyes wandered around the room, taking everything in. So this was to be my room for a while? Seems kinda empty to me.

After a moment of standing there, I soon decided to unpack my belongings. As I was unpacking my suitcase, my elbow bumped against the desk.

"Damnit, that hurt!" I cursed as I held my elbow in pain, rubbing it slowly. As I was trying to ease the pain, I saw something that must have fallen off the desk. It was a journal, one that belonged to Shinjiro. It looked rather worn out and must have seen a lot of use. Who knew Shinji loved to write, I mused?

As I picked it up, I saw a page that made my heart freeze in fear…


	9. Chapter 9

What He Left behind Chapter 9-Memoirs of the dead

10/19/2009 pre-evening

Souji's hands were shaking as he looked at the page that the journal had fallen open to, his heart freezing in the process. The page was titled: **Persona**. The very thing he had tried to forget and shut out of his mind for good. "…The fucking hell? What is this, some sort of a sick joke? Why did he keep-no, **_write_** something like this? Was he…a Persona User before he died?" said Souji as he shook in fear, his body starting to sweat out of fear. Every instinct in his mind told him to drop the book and run out of the room and ask for another one, but everyone else was most likely busy with studying for the next exams.

Why did it always come back to haunt him? He just wanted to live in peace after all the **hell** he had gone through. So why was he being _denied_ it? Why? Why did fate decide to give him the finger? He shook his head quickly and summed up the courage to read the page.

He just hoped it wouldn't be so bad…oh, how **_wrong_** he was…

"**You can't deny yourself, Souji Seta. A Persona user can never escape the truth, you know, so why deny your own past? Your own memories? YOURSELF!?**" came a voice in his mind; a voice that had haunted him for years…

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?/?/200?

_Shinjiro's PoV_

_So…my brother has decided to invite me to this 'special club' that he had been brought into six months ago. This lady-Mitsuru was the daughter of Takeharu Kirijo and was a very famous person. I wasn't into the famous crowd; never was._

_The weather was somewhat cloudy and it looked like it was about to rain. I looked down at my trench coat that I was so fond of and I grumbled in annoyance. I __**fucking hate**__ the rain, damnit! As the rain began to fall on my head, I gunned for the nearest shelter-a small crappy bus stop. Never took the bus, hated it so much._

_"Phew, made it! Thank god, I __**hate**__ the rain…" I panted and began to scope the crappy area for a place to sit. The only place to sit down was near a man in an orange suit…that, in my opinion, looked very creepy. Does everyone in this city have to look like a __**freak**__?_

_I sat down and didn't look at him. The less I did so, the better. As I stared out into the foggy, rain-filled air, the man next to me spoke, "It's getting rather cold today, huh? The rain is coming down rather hard now. And you look pretty wet too." the man spoke as if he was talking to me. I didn't answer and kept staring out at the rain. He soon spoke again, this time I felt him stare right at me. Did this fool not get it? I don't want to talk to him. At all._

_"…You don't like talking to others much, do you son?" he let out a chuckle that pissed me off. I still felt his stare on me and I let him know that I didn't like him. But that only made him laugh harder. "I thought so, I don't like talking to other people much myself, and so I understand what you're feeling."_

_For the first time, I caught his gaze, which felt very unusual to me. "What's your name, son? My name is Shuji Ikutsuki. As you can see, I hate pronouncing it, so just call me Ikutsuki instead." he extended his hand to me and I slowly shook it, unsure of what to think of this man. Little did I know he'd lead into my own version of __**hell…**_

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Souji let out a breath that he didn't know he was holding. This man-Shuji Ikutsuki, led him into a painful last few years of his life? Was he the reason he was dead? He kept reading…just finding out how bad his blood brother's life was…

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_Shinjiro's PoV_

_?/23/200?_

_It's been several weeks since I've been accepted into SEES, the group my blood brother Akihiko Sanada joined seven months ago. The group was small, consisting of Mitsuru, Akihiko, and now, myself. There had been another member called Labrys, but her whereabouts were unknown. One day, she went missing and was never found. She was an Anti-Shadow Weapon from what Mitsuru told me._

_One night when we were out patrolling during the Dark Hour, I caught sight of a large Shadow in the rural district. "You guys, c'mon! Let tear this bastard apart! Let's get moving, damnit! Get your asses into gear!" I yelled in excitement, running after it on my own, ignoring the cries of my two friends. As I chased the Shadow into a dead end, my Persona Castor began to act abnormally, its force digging at my mind. I gripped my head in pain,_

_"Stop it! I'm the one in control, you damn Persona! I'm your __**master**__!" saying those exact words sealed my fate. On his own accord, Castor came out of me and roared in rage, glaring at the Shadow who had gotten attracted by my presence. My mind was burning in pain as I tried hard to regain myself, but my Persona was too strong for me to control now._

_I could only watch as he barreled towards the Shadow, weapons raised and totally disregarding the house behind him. _

_"I won't let you hurt my son!" "__**MOM**__!"_

_I could hear the screams of a mother and child, the former hovering over her son to protect him. Castor raised his sword and stabbed the Shadow, pushing its dying body into the house, crushing the mother and child._

_"__**MOTHER**__!" That one scream would be my undoing…to my own death…_

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Souji looked horrified; Shinjiro's Persona, Castor had gone out of control and killed a Shadow plus two humans? He wanted to throw the book away, but some unknown force made him keep reading…

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_I woke up to the faces of Akihiko and Mitsuru, their horrified faces staring at what my Persona had done. "Oh shit, what the fuck have I done!? What have I __**done!?**__" I crab-crawled backwards, unable or not wanting to believe what Castor-no, what __**I**__ had done. My recklessness had caused two people to die…and it was my fault. I vowed never again to lose control of myself and I left the next day, despite the protests of my blood brother._

_I wandered aimlessly, plagued with guilt at what had happened. How could I forgive myself for becoming a __**murderer**__? No one would ever love me, so I stayed in the shadows, never talking to anyone else except the one who had gotten me into this mess-Castor. Only he could get me to talk. Only __**him**__, the son of a bitch._

_Soon weeks had passed and Akihiko had finally found me, forcing me to come out of hiding. At first, he tried to convince me to rejoin SEES, "…Have you forgotten what I-no, my __**Persona**__ did to that mother and son?" my voice cracked as I said this, but Akihiko's hand on my shoulder grabbed my attention as he used his other hand to force me to stare at him in the eyes, _

_"…the boy __**lived**__, Shinji. He survived that attack." those words caught my full attention and I stared wide-eyed in shock._

_The kid had __**survived**__? All that hell and he had survived? I felt a little bit better until I realized that the boy would come after me to avenge his mother's death. My body fell to the ground in fear as my emotions got the better of me and I ran away._

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The younger brother of Akihiko kept reading as he shifted uncomfortably in his spot on the floor, afraid of what he would find out but felt compelled to kept going on. The fact that Shinjiro had felt such massive guilt of what he had caused to happen to the boy's mother. "Brother…" he breathed as tears fell down his face, unable to contain the sorrow he was feeling. If only he had stayed with his brothers, perhaps the boy's mother would have lived and his own blood brother would have been spared.

"My god…" he gasped, holding his hand over his mouth as he kept reading on…

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_Date: ?/?/200?_

_It's been a long time since that horrible day, almost two years ago. I had wandered around Tatsumi Port Island trying to find a place to stay, and I had finally found a small apartment that suited me. Didn't need a big home; a small one did just fine. As I moved into my apartment, I saw something that caught my eyes: a trio of strangely dressed young adults._

_…Were they going to a cosplay convention or something? Because they way they dressed sure seemed like it to me. The man with white hair looked like a dead hippie who had washed his dreadlocks in two years and smelled like cat litter. Bet he'd never gotten laid before…_

_The next dude looked like a vampire with sparkles on his skin…and he carried a suitcase with him. Bet he's never been outside. The last person was a girl in Goth clothes._

_…What. The. Hell. Are. They. __**Thinking**__?! Are they crazy to go outside walking with those clothes on like it's normal attire!? Some people, I swear to god…_

_I turned away from the alleyway and began to walk up the long and creaky staircase up to my new apartment. Just when I was about to open the door, a sudden wave of nausea hit me and I stumbled a bit to regain my footing. Then, I was tapped on the shoulder, and turned around._

_"You seem to be feeling rather unwell, sir…" Ah fuck, it was the hippie-wannabe and his two friends standing behind him. And he had the smuggest grin on his face to boot. My eyebrow twitched in both pain and irritation-just who the hell did he think I was?!_

_After a moment, I spoke, "What do you want?" I said rather rudely and he saw this…but he didn't run away like most people did. Instead, he smiled even more. His friend dug into his pocket and got out some white pills…the very ones that would doom me to a painful death._

_I stared at them; what were they doing with those pills anyway? Were they druggies or something?_

_It was then that the jet black-haired young adult spoke, "You seem to be suffering from the same thing we are…" he said this in a casual manner._

_He extended his hand to me, "…What do you want, I'm trying to get into my apartment, so just go." I growled, turning away from them and walked up the rest of the stairs to my apartment door. It was then they said the one thing that made me freak out,_

_"…Do you have trouble controlling your Persona, Shinjiro Aragaki?"_

_I froze up when I heard that being said, every muscle in my body told me to run, but some unknown force kept me in place. Castor soon appeared next to me…_

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Souji had put down the book to go eat dinner with everyone else to celebrate his arrival. It made him feel warm inside, just like in the past with Miki and Shinjiro. They made him feel so happy and he missed that feeling. Minato, his blood brother's lover was sitting next to him along with his fraternal twin sister, Hamuko. She was making jokes about the latest movie they had seen together. It was a movie about a superhero ameboa, one that Ken loved a lot to the point where he had seen it four times already in a week.

"Yeah, there's just no way that someone could fly backwards when shot, there's just no way that's possible!" she yelled, waving her arms around like it was the most exciting thing in the world. Souji chuckled in amusement as he watched them laughing together, bringing back memories of his youth with Miki, Shinji, and Akihiko. From watching movies with them to rough housing in the sandbox with Akihiko, he vividly remembered his childhood…but the bad memories sank back in and once again, he shoved them to the back of his head to try in vain to forget.

Minato's PoV

10/19/2009 Evening, Dinnertime

Hamuko is really a child at heart; she just can't stop watching those kinds of movies and neither can Ken-kun. I wonder if my twins would like watching this kind of movie, I looked at my belly, now fully showing that I was pregnant to the world, six months-almost seven, pregnant since I got knocked up in June. I smiled and rubbed my belly to see if they would kick and sure enough, they did. I wonder what genders they are, girls or boys? Would they be like Shinjiro or be like me, the possibilities were endless, I could see how expecting mothers get excited over this, it's fun! As the twins moved inside me, I glanced over at Souji who for some reason, looked very nervous. Junpei hugged him by the shoulders, catching him off guard. "Ah!"

"C'mon Souji, don't be so glum, eat up, this food was cooked by Minato after all, it's the best here in the dorm! Stuff your face, yo!" He yelled, scarfing down some mashed potatoes that I had made with Fuuka. Fuuka had gotten a lot better with her cooking due to Hamuko's help in the Cooking Club they had, me being the newest and third member of it. Cooking was a lot of fun and it reminded me of when the three of us cooked together back then.

"Yeah, don't be so nervous, it's okay to eat it if Junpei says so!" said Hamuko, somehow able to speak with her mouth full of Takoyaki chicken, her cheeks puffed full of warm food. She really needs to get over that bad habit if she wants her future nephews or nieces to not pick it up. "O-okay, I'll try some food…which should I try first?" said Souji as he looked at all of the food on the table, and finally decided on some tasty chicken and took a few bites. Drool began to come down his mouth as he hummed in blissful happiness.

"…You like it?" I asked nervously smiling at him. He nodded and ate more, so that answered for me and we all resumed eating. Fuuka and Yukari were talking about something, but I couldn't hear it clearly and leaned in closer to eavesdrop,

"…About that last Shadow, Fuuka. What do you think will happen to the Dark Hour if we defeat it?" My ears perked up; they were defiantly talking about the last Full Moon Shadow we have to defeat, the very last one. Minato had been the one to lead us on those operations, but know that he was pregnant; I was the one who would lead this final battle. I delved into my mind and checked my Personas-

Dionysius-An Electric Persona that I had gotten attached to and kept him as a permanent member on my team. He also knew Mediarama for healing and Blade of Fury, which I had taught him after looking in Shinjiro's room. I still wonder why he had that Skill Card there in his room…

Eurydice-She's been there from the beginning as is always good for every situation. She knows just about every elemental spell except for Hama and Almighty. She's got Invigorate 3, which basically means I can recover SP very quickly along with my Mage's Mark. She gets along with Minato's Orpheus…they _were_ lovers once in a past life, in some Greek myth I'd forgotten…never paid real close attention to class much.

She's weak to Mudo and Zio spells, though, can't hide that weakness.

Throne-Me and Minato share him, so he's used a lot if one of us gets sick or something. He knows Hama spells and the highest level Media spell, along with Tarunda in case. Minato's taken a liking to him lately, but I don't know why.

Alice-Newly fused with all the Mudo spells, including the highest level spell called…Die for me! When Theo told me the name, I fell to the ground laughing for what seemed like forever. Such a silly name for a spell…

Kohryu-A mighty dragon that knows both Mediarahan and Samarecarm, but he also knows Makarakarn, which reflects magic spells. Pretty handy.

Thanatos-I knew I'd meet this dude eventually, but he's the one who burst out of Orpheus in April, then just vanished and now he shows up again. Knows every Mudo spell, along with Mediarahan, Tetrakarn and Endure. He's very rash and just charge at any Shadow…I wonder how Shinjiro dealt with his Persona when it was like that.

As I was calculating up a plan in my head, I felt Koromaru's warm fur brush up against my foot, so I glanced under the table and gazed into his red eyes.

"Bark Bark!" he whined and nudged my foot, " You want some food, Koro-chan?" I reached onto my plate and grabbed a piece of chicken, "Here you go!" He took it from my hand and lay down to eat it, and immediately, Mitsuru reprimanded me,

"You know you're not allowed to give Koromaru table scraps, right Hamuko? He will get sick and I don't want to take him to the vet a second time." she said in a teasing manner that made me jump an inch. Minato chuckled at my reaction as Mitsuru gave me a lecture at the dinner table of all places. Doesn't she realize everyone is staring at her now? I mentally sighed as she soon stopped the lecture and began another conversation, this time about Minato's twins. She smiled as she rubbed his swollen belly,

"As you are aware, Minato is about six and half months along with his pregnancy, but…" she hung on that last word for a moment, waiting for everyone's attention before she continued, "…he hasn't been able to pick out any names for them, so…I ask that you all pick out at least five names of either gender and show them to me in a week. And I want them to be good names as well." she smiled,

"Of course, I will pay the winner who has the best names that Minato chooses." This caught Junpei and Souji's attention as the looked at each other, and then at Akihiko, who they dragged away with them, ignoring his protests. Just what were they thinking anyway, running off like that? I shook my head; if Mitsuru had made a bet to encourage the dorm to pick a name to help out Minato, then she must want to pick one out herself.

She wouldn't just pick out a name one her own, she'd want help. Maybe I could help her. Minato just stayed quiet and blushed madly, scratching his nose like he did when he was nervous.

After dinner was over and everyone went into his or her rooms for a while, I went to my brother to spend some time with him before we went to Tartarus for training. "Hey, what's wrong? You seem sad, and you're crying." I noted, wiping the tears coming down his cheeks and kissed him on the forehead.

He looked at me and forced a smile, "Mood swings really, I don't even feel sad really, and it just hit me. The twins are kicking me in the ribs pretty hard tonight, so maybe that's why. They like kicking at nighttime more than the daytime." he said, moving so I could touch his swollen belly.

It had gotten pretty big in the last week or so, so the twins must be growing pretty big in there. No wonder they're kicking so much…  
"Hey there, I'm your auntie Hamuko, I wish to see you soon!" Minato glared at me, mood swings in full effect. Being six-and-a-half months along did take its toll on his emotions. He got upset earlier for not being able to go train with the rest of us. He missed fighting because it reminded him of Shinjiro-senpai.

"Hey Hamuko…can I ask you something? It's not Velvet room related, it's something else." he asked in a quiet voice and he made me move off him. I nodded and he resumed talking.

"…Have you seen Pharos anytime lately, it feels like he's not coming back anymore. So I thought you knew where he was." he really had liked the ghost kid and when he left recently, he was crushed and missed him terribly. He really was closer to him than I ever was.

…Even when he called me his dearest all the time. He was creepy and vague like that back when we first met. He constantly flirted with me all the time and it took all of my strength to stop my brother from killing the kid.

Sighing, I shook my head and saw his head droop lower, "You don't know then…" He rubbed his head and stood up, heading to his room for the night, "…Maybe he's never coming back. Sad, I liked him." he closed the door to his room and I went up to the 4th floor command room, making damn sure not to be seen…

"Perfect. Now to check out the good shit on this badass baby." I made sure not to leave the door unlocked like the last time when Koromaru had caught me. Thank goodness the treats I bribed him with had kept him from telling Aigis about my little sneaking around. Just incase, I placed a chair under the doorknob and made my way to the monitor and turned it on.

Sweet, there were a couple of new recordings! One of them was dated a few months back around September. I clicked on it and began to watch it.

I grabbed the popcorn and began watching…

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_9/6/2009_

_"—You, too, can follow along on page 39 of this month's issue." said a voice on the TV._

_Shinjiro was sitting on the chair, watching the TV intently along with Koromaru, who was sitting next to him. The rough guy was thinking of cooking something special for Minato for their upcoming date and he was watching and reading every little bit of helpful information he could get his hands on._

_"Today we're making spicy pepper pasta. It's a great dish to keep your energy up through the summer heat." continued the voice. Shinjiro knew Minato loved pasta of any kind as he saw from his eating habit, which had gotten very unusual lately. Maybe he was going through a food phase._

_"The key ingredient is green cayenne pepper. Remember to remove the seeds first! After that, we'll prepare some kelp broth. You'll need a pasta cooker of about this size, and…"_

_Shinjiro looked down at the floor, "Hmm, a pasta cooker…Do we have one here in the dorm?" he wondered in curiosity. He stayed like that for a moment._

_"*sigh* It's still pretty hot." said a voice from outside; a female one. Shinjiro panicked internally; he really didn't want any of his dorm mates to know he liked to cook and scrambled to come up with a way to avoid being asked questions about it._

_"It requires energy to maintain an appropriate external temperature." said a voice that could only belong to Aigis. "Shit, she'll blab it to everyone!" he thought. Then an idea came to him: he'd use the faking sleep act to fool them._

_He placed it on his face, leaned back so he'd look like he was asleep. Koromaru got up from his sitting position and went to greet Aigis and Fuuka._

_"We have returned." said Aigis. Koromaru went up to her and smiled._

_"Woof, woof!(/Welcome home, Fuuka, Aigis!/)" he replied, running over to Shinjiro's chair. "We're home, Koro-chan!" smiled Fuuka as she went over to pet him and noticed Shinjiro with the magazine on his face._

_"Oh…shh! I'd feel awful if we woke up Shinjiro-senpai." she noted. "Arf!" barked Koromaru (/He's not asleep, Fuuka! He's faking it!/) He poked Shinjiro, hoping to get a reaction out of him. He was disappointed when he didn't get one out of Beanie-san._

_"He says that…"Shinjiro-san is not asleep."" translated Aigis, looking at Shinjiro, who was praying that his act would work. He didn't want his pride to take a hit._

_"Senpai's magazine…It's the monthly guide to the "Family Cooking" show…Does Shinjiro-senpai enjoy cooking shows…?" she asked aloud. Shinjiro panicked; it didn't matter if his act succeeded or not, they knew about his cooking hobby now! Oh, how he wished to sink into the ground right now._

_"Oh, that's a new issue…I didn't know this month's was out already. When did he buy it? Oh, um, it's nothing. I've just been interested in cooking lately; Hamuko's been a big help in our little unofficial club. Maybe you'd like to join us, Aigis?" she continued asking._

_"Do you think he's going to make something for Minato-kun? They are a couple after all…" Fuuka added as she went to go get a blanket for Shinjiro. When she was coming back, she saw Koromaru sitting on his lap, resting his head on Shinji's thigh._

_"Koromaru seems to like Shinjiro, he always calls him Beanie-san when we talk to each other." said Aigis as she walked away with Fuuka after the latter had placed the blanket on him. As they were walking away, Koromaru waited until they had left to go knock the magazine off his face._

_"…Damnit, I forgot she understands dog talk." grumbled Shinjiro as he glared at the white dog lying on his chest, licking his face, "I know, you want something too, don't ya, Koro-chan?" said Shinjiro as he pushed him and the blanket off and got up and walked towards the Kitchen._

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Hamuko was in stitches after she saw that video, "Oh man, who knew Shinji loved to joke around like that! Oh man, I…" She remembered the pocket watch she had gotten from Officer Kurosawa that she had given to Shinji after he had forgotten it. It now had a dent in it from Takaya's fatal bullet. She still kept it around and always carried it with her everywhere.

She stopped and looked for another recording to watch, not noticing that Koromaru was sitting behind her…

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9/20/2009

_Minato was resting in his bed, recovering from his cold that the pain-in-the-ass typhoon gave to him. Shinjiro had been sleeping on the floor, not leaving the room unless he had to use the restroom. He had freaked out when he found his lover face-down on the floor and had carried him to his bed, demanding to know why he hadn't told anyone that he was sick._

_Minato was too weak to answer, so Shinjiro merely took it that he didn't want to worry anyone. Whenever Minato wanted something, Shinji would get it for him. One day when Minato was almost fully recovered…_

_The door creaked open as Aigis snuck into the room and closed it. "Door unlocked in 92 seconds. My time has improved." she noted, with a hint of pride. She glanced at Minato and Shinjiro's sleeping forms and walked over to the bed, touching Minato's forehead._

_"…Surface body temperature reads…98.7 degrees…no fever. At this rate, he should recover by morning. The pillow I had prepared in the freezer will not be necessary." she noted, standing up and making sure not to disturb either of them._

_"I mustn't stay too long, or Yukari-san will reprimand me again." she left without another word._

_"…Damn, she's obsessed with Minato-chan." grumbled Shinjiro as he opened his eyes, once again faking sleep to avoid being caught. He got up on the bed and hovered over Minato, who had also been faking sleep and stared into his lover's eyes. "Hey Shinji…" said the bluenette, tracing his lover's groin with a single finger, making him shiver with arousal._

_' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' _

Hamuko blushed, both panicked and strangely turned on by the hot scene she had just seen on the monitor.

"Dear god, brother was a beast in bed…and so was Shinji…" she muttered, barely a whisper. Yet, she was unable to turn away from the screen, wondering if there were more.

She still had not noticed Koromaru sitting calmly behind her on the floor, along with Aigis…

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_9/25/2009_

_Shinjiro sighed; Minato could do the most random things at times, always going off somewhere he couldn't find him. The two were in Tartarus in the Tziah block to do some training for the next full moon Shadow they'd fight._

_"Come on Shinji, keep up! There's this certain Shadow I want to kill. It's got a statue I need…or do I need three of them?" he said in a cheerful voice. Shinjiro had noted that he was acting very perky this day, not like his normal calm, collected self. The axe-wielder sighed, shook his head, and followed his lover._

_A few minutes later, Minato had cornered a large Shadow and had engaged it in combat. Shinjiro joined a second later, on the other side of him. "You really want to hunt this one? It seems kinda powerful…" he was unsure; they had gone alone without the others for some private time to hunt some Idol that Minato wanted to get an item from._

_Something about a quest to turn in or some random bullshit. Why he felt the need to do that, no one in SEES knew or could figure out. All he said was that he liked scrapbooking._

_The Shadow-a Large Idol enemy that had some rather annoying Mudo and Hama spells. Thank god Hamuko found all of those Homunculi to shield the duo. It didn't take them long before they killed it and picked up the necessary items for Minato's quest._

_On the way up to the barricade, Shinjiro seemed abnormally quiet for some reason. "Something wrong, Shinji? You look a little nauseous…" asked Fuuka's voice over the intercom. Minato came up to him, ignoring the noise he had heard earlier out of concern for his boyfriend._

_Shinjiro hesitated before saying, "…I'm fine, Fuuka. It's…" he paused; should he really talk about the horrendous food the Priestess had cooked shortly before they left for Tartarus. As if she was reading his mind, she replied._

_"Was it my cooking again, I'm sorry Shinjiro-senpai…I…" she apologized, a hint of sadness in her voice. She really wanted him to try the food she had cooked and like the man he was, Shinji tried it and managed to swallow it._

_"…I thought you got better at cooking, Fuuka?" asked Minato confused. Fuuka was about to answer him when she yelled, "BEHIND YOU! IT'S DEATH!"_

_Minato and Shinjiro barely had anytime to react before Myriad Arrows were sent their way and were knocked to the ground flat on their backs._

_Shinjiro tried to get up, but the Reaper was right there, in the open and his gun was aimed right at him. His body told him to run, but he felt frozen to the floor, unable to move._

_The only thing he could say was, "Oh fuck…"_

_A short while later back in the lobby of Tartarus, Shinjiro was woken up by Koromaru licking his face. "Woof, Woof!" he barked, ('Bout time you woke up, Beanie-san! We were worried!)_

_"Stop it, Koro-chan…" he moaned, slowly sitting up, wincing at the pain in his ribs. He looked down to see bandages around and under his arm. "Minato barely managed to get you to an access point in time, Shinji. You got really cocky up there today, you even ignored the warning signs Fuuka gave you…you could have been killed!" said Akihiko with a hint of distain in his rising voice, turning to glare at Minato, who whistled innocently, feigning that he did anything wrong._

_"I know you want to collect the random things the Shadows drop, but did you really not remember that when there are nothing more than gold Shadows and lots of treasure, the Reaper comes much faster than on a normal floor?" asked Mitsuru as she checked him over for wounds._

_Shinjiro chuckled; his lover could be rather…hard to read sometimes. Yukari came over, summoned Io and began to work on healing his wounds again after he had unknowingly re-opened them._

_' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' '_

Hamuko smiled; her brother could be very weird when he wanted to complete those quests that Theo or Elizabeth wanted done. She stood up, and stretched her arms in the air and yawned. "Sleepy, going down now…" she said, scratching her back and froze when she saw Koromaru, Aigis, and now…Mitsuru.

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Minato sighed; he really missed Shinjiro after he had taken a look at that recording in the command room. Hamuko had stumbled upon it by mistake and apologized profusely. "Sometimes I wonder if I'll ever get over his death. It's been so hard, and now, Pharos is gone as well, god knows where…and he was the only one I could tell in detail about my feelings. I only have my friends the basics about my feelings…"

The air inside of his room felt stifling to the young pregnant teen; almost as if he was being constricted by his own grief and it annoyed him. Eventually, he tossed the covers off of him, got up, and went outside to use the restroom.

He did not expect to see his twin getting lectured…


	10. Chapter 10

What He Left Behind Chapter 10-Hanged Man Boss and Betrayal

11/3/2009 Dark Hour

Hamuko gripped the Naginata tightly in her sweaty hands; today was the day that the Dark Hour would be abolished. The final Full Moon Shadow-the Hanged Man was awaiting her and her friends. She had made Minato stay behind, positive he would be fine on his own, but Mitsuru insisted that Koromaru stay with him, worried that he would get hurt by the Shadows if he was alone without any aid. Minato, of course, complained that he was still capable of using his Personas to defend himself.

As she lead the team towards the Moonlight Bridge, Hamuko began to feel something was wrong. A growing sense of dread was beginning to fester inside her heart. No matter how she tried to brush it away, it would not leave her.

Earlier, Souji had warned her that the Chairman was up to something, but everyone brushed him off and told him he was crazy.

Somehow, Souji was aware of the Dark Hour, but had no Persona. He would say why he was awake during that time, but the team made him stay behind with Minato and Koromaru. She sighed and rubbed her forehead;

"There's just no way the Chairman would betray us…Souji's just wrong about him…sure, he may make puns every now and then, but he's been a reliable guy. I'm sure he's made a misjudgment." she muttered to herself as she picked the team to fight the Hanged Man-Ken, Aigis, and Yukari.

She was taking Ken and Yukari for healing and Aigis for raw damage output. She was sure this would make the fight easier.

The wind was still and cold, no wind was blowing around. "This will be our last battle, everyone, be on your guard at all times." said Mitsuru as she looked everyone in the eyes, seeing their determined stares. She looked at Hamuko,

"Be careful, leader. There's no telling what may lie beyond this point, keep your guard up, Arisato. This is our last battle." she said, much softer than she would have liked to say. Sighing didn't make her feel better. "I'll be careful, Mitsuru-senpai." replied Hamuko.

Hamuko silently nodded as she went to give her selected teammates new weapons and armor and then the four headed out in the lead.

"…Dude, this place feels so creepy during the Dark Hour, man. It's feels like a zombie could come out at any moment and bite our heads or something…" commented Hamuko as her grip on the naginata got tighter. Her gaze wandered as she moved closer to her teammates, more nervous by the second as the oppressive atmosphere grew thick with tension. She felt suffocated by it.

"…Please don't say something like that, it's creepy…" said Ken.

Yukari nodded in agreement as she looked around her, at all of the frozen cars, at all of the Transmogrified people who had been turned into coffins, and even at a person who had become part of the Lost. "Yeah, it does feel scary, but we've got this one last Shadow to deal with a-and…" she stopped mid-sentence, pointing forward in front of her. Where she was pointing, Takaya and Jin were standing there…

' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' '

1F Lounge, near the TV

Dark Hour

Souji's PoV

I know I've said this plenty of times, but I fucking hate the Dark Hour. I hate those black monsters that come out and kill everyone not in a coffin. But why do they do that and for what reasons? It feels like I know this fact, but it feels locked inside my brain and I'm unable to get it out. I shake my head; it must not be important. Minato-senpai even assured me that it was no big deal. That gave me comfort; everyone else said the same thing. So it must be true…but that voice I used to hear in my dreams said the exact opposite. It kept telling me that I was denying myself…whatever that meant.

Eventually, it stopped coming to me in my dreams. Thank goodness.

I sat on the couch in the lounge with Minato and Koromaru, stuck with nothing to do except read a book. No electronics worked during this time and it got old fast.

Real. Damn. Old. And very annoying.

I just wanna beat that online MMORPG that Junpei showed me-Innocent Sin Online. I chuckle; I must be really bored or something.

Minato, on the other hand, didn't seem to be affected or bothered at all by this…oddity. Was he used to it? I decided to ask him about it, "Hey Minato-senpai…can I ask you something? It's something I wanted to ask for a while now…" he turned to stare at me and I continued on, "…Are you used this…phenomenon by now or something? It seems like you expect it to happen. Why is that? Can you give me an answer?"

My hands couldn't stop shaking, but I couldn't tell if it was fear or just plain nervousness. My last guardian told me a lot about how I needed to stop it.

My senpai laughed nervously, having a hard time saying what he wanted to say. I could hear muttering something about the twins but he finally began to speak.

"Oh, um, about that you see…well, there's a very good reason why this is happening, Souji…" he fumbled with his fingers, avoiding my direct gaze. I frowned; he was stalling, not wanting to answer, as if he was trying to hide something from me. It must be one big secret if he doesn't want to tell me about it. We've become quite close in the short time I've moved here in the dorm.

So why won't he tell me?! God damn, I want answers!

Minato's PoV

Fuuuuuuuuck, this…was not part of the plan when I was told to keep an eye on him while the rest of SEES went out to stop the last Full Moon Shadow and get rid of the Dark Hour.

"Well, I want an answer. Minato-senpai, just what is going on?!" Souji's voice cracked and I saw a single tear go down his cheek. Poor guy; he was really scared now. I sighed and told him,

"Well, we really don't know why this…whatever is happening." I really hoped this lie would work. I held my breath as Souji thought what I had said over in his head and replied with,

"…So you don't know, Minato-senpai?" He sighed, rubbing my pregnant belly as he tried to stay calm. I moved back a bit to allow him to rub it better.

Oh great, this was gonna take a while. Even the twins inside me kept moving around…and Souji began to rub my belly again…

' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' '

Hamuko's PoV

We had finally arrived at the Moonlight Bridge and who do we run into-Strega. The bastard who had killed Shinjiro-senpai and his loyal friend Jin were standing in our path, blocking our progress forward. Assholes. Motherfucking assholes.

I raised my naginata, pointing it right at Takaya.

"…Get out of our way, Strega. Or I tear your to little pieces!" Every fiber of my being wanted to cut him down into tiny little pieces and make him pay. What he did to break my brother's and Ken's heart, not to mention everyone else's was unforgiveable. He took the life of Minato's lover and the life of the unborn twins' father.

And yet that bastard Takaya had no remorse. None at all.

Takaya laughed and spoke,

"…You know the significance of today, do you not? You claim you hunt the Shadows to prevent the disaster they bring…yet, countless lives are lost each day without their intervention. The power we wield is not itself evil. You cannot deny that." he spoke calmly, almost too calmly to me. I pointed my weapon in his direction in anger,

"Just what the hell do you mean?! If we don't stop the Dark Hour, the whole world will inevitably fall to ruin and you want to let this HAPPEN!?" Just how could those two be so apathetic to this problem? Yukari spoke next, also angry. It wasn't often to see her this angry.

"So you're just gonna let the whole world end like this?! How cold are you!?" she had her weapon ready to fire. I could also hear Ken and Aigis ready their weapons too. I could feel how angry Ken was now…

Soon, the others had arrived. And yet Takaya kept talking.

"So why don't you just admit it? You do not wish to end the Dark Hour…you are merely deceiving yourselves." I swear to god he just smirked slightly.

"Fuck. You. We are doing no such thing; we want to stop anyone from becoming the Lost again! And if you get in our way, you're going down! You killed Shinjiro!" I yelled, pissed off. He replied,

"Look within yourselves and you shall see…you are indeed foolish children." he shook his head as he reached for his revolver, now showing anger on his normally emotionless face. Jin was reaching for his weapon as well.

"Erasing the Dark Hour is the same as erasing yourselves. Tch, is even that beyond your comprehension?" he snorted.

"As I believed, our goals are irreconcilable. How lamentable." he pulled out his gun. "Jin…" he ordered.

"Forget these maggots…" muttered Jin in annoyance. He held a grenade in his left hand and glared at me. "Fate shall decide who'll prevail." said Takaya.

Everyone else got ready behind us in case we needed help. My team got ready next to me. I eyed Ken and whispered,

"…Be careful, that gun is what killed Shinjiro-senpai…he nearly killed you, too…" I said as we charged.

Takaya first tried to aim at me with his gun, but he barely missed me and the bullet hit the bridge railing.

"Shit, that was close!" I cursed as I summoned Eurydice,

"Magarula!" I commanded and she twirled around and used to her harp to summon two large gales of wind on Takaya and Jin. Jin snarled, stumbling and struggling to regain his footing.

"There's no cure for stupidity." he yelled, using his own Evoker and summoning the weirdest Persona, which only had one arm and commanded it to use Mudo on me. I could feel the dark circle form around me and I swear my heart stopped beating.

Eurydice was weak to Mudo spells, dammit! Shit, shit, shit! Please don't kill me!

"_Fucking shit!"_ I cursed mentally.

However, the spell failed to hit me and I switched to Thanatos. Not taking that chance again, dammit…Ken saw this and healed me fully with a Bead…even though I was at half health only.

"Are you okay?!" he yelled as he and I dodged Jin's Maragilao spell,

"I'm fine! Just focus on Jin first! He's got Mudo spells!" I yelled to the team.

"Maziodyne!" yelled Takaya, who had given me no time to react before I was knocked to the ground, dizzy and unaware of the battle around me…

Ken's PoV

Damnit, that Takaya cheated! He didn't give Hamuko-chan any time to get up and now she was dizzy! Crap!

I reached into my pocket and grabbed a Magic Mirror to set up a barrier to protect us from one hit of a spell. As the lights swirled around us and set up the barrier, I spent my turn helping Hamuko-chan back up onto her feet. I smiled,

"Be more careful next time, okay?" I asked as she grabbed her weapon.

She smiled and nodded,

"I will, Ken…" she said, rushing at Jin with her naginata. He had no time to react to her melee attack when he had been focusing on attacking Aigis and Yukari with grenades. Hamuko's attack connected and the grenade was knocked out of his hand and fell off the side of the bridge. I faintly heard the sounds of it exploding way below us.

(Normal PoV)

"Bitch, you'll pay for that cheap stunt!" he yelled as he reached for his Evoker to summon Hypnos. His next Maragilao was aimed at Yukari, but he missed and the attack blew up a nearby car. Hamuko stared in a horrified state, briefly remembering what had happened to her and her siblings the day their parents died.

She, Minato and their little sister Naoto had been spared with only a few scratches, but both their parents were killed instantly.

She shook her head and regained her composure; this was no time to think of the past, she was fighting Strega alongside her friends…

She made eye contact with Yukari and silently signaled her to do a Co-op attack, and together, they rushed forward and made a critical hit land on Jin, knocking him down to the ground and making him unable to fight any longer.

Soon, Takaya followed suit…

Eventually after what seemed like forever, Takaya and Jin were defeated and knocked to the ground.

"Damnit…" said Jin, dismayed and displeased with being the loser. His clenched teeth pleased Hamuko; she wanted to see him suffer.

"Is their power THAT different than ours…?" That made everyone confused and Mitsuru asked what Jin meant by that question.

"Different?" she asked. "What do you mean by that, Strega?"

The grenade user snapped, angry she even asked that question.

"For us, it's not that simple. It has to be forced out. We're different than you folks." he winced as he tried to stand up.

"Didn't your pal tell you?" he snarked, reminding everyone of Shinjiro and the white pills he had taken to control his Persona Castor from going out of control.

Akihiko came to a realization as he clenched his fists, "So it was **you** who was giving Shinji those pills." he glared as he stared right into Jin's eyes.

"You guys don't have the slightest clue what will happened if the Dark Hour disappears, do you? It won't matter for normal people, since they don't remember anything anyway…but for us-" Jin trailed off, refusing to say anyone on the topic.

"Huh?" asked Mitsuru. But before she could say anything more, Takaya interrupted her.

"That's enough…" he stared at the group, who braced themselves for another long, drawn out fight.

"Now, then…Ordinarily, we'd withdraw…but not tonight. This body, as ephemeral as it is, it is worthless without my power…" Takaya began to move his revolver towards his head, sending everyone even Jin into panic,

"Therefore, only one choice remains. I shall prove my existence, here and now." he readied himself to pull the trigger, but Jin grabbed his hand, forcing himself to kneel despite being in massive pain.

"Takaya!" yelled Jin as he stood in pain. "What are you doing?!" questioned Takaya. He stared at his lover.

"Don't be so reckless!" yelled Jin. "Jin?!" questioned Takaya again.

Jin winced,

"Sorry, but those are your words, not mine." he turned to face the group and spoke, as he and Takaya steeped over the railings of the Moonlight Bridge, freaking everyone out.

"You win…looks like you'll get your wish…but let me give you one last piece of advice. Your pregnant friend…and the girl with the naginata…they're marked…go do what you came for."

"Wait! Don't tell me you're gonna jump!" Yelled Junpei as he ran in a futile attempt to stop the pair from committing suicide. "I'd rather die than surrender to you!" yelled Jin. "Take a good look; this is how we live!"

But it was too late; they fell over before he could do anything. Akihiko ran up beside him, "Those idiots, what the hell were they thinking?!" he pounded his fists on the railing in anger.

"They jumped…how insane. They'd really rather kill themselves than face judgment?" said Yukari, still unsure of what she had just seen. She really wanted to get payback for what happened to Minato's lover.

Everyone was in shock; why did they kill themselves? Everyone shared a common goal after the death of Shinjiro Aragaki: kill Takaya and avenge him. But now, that goal would forever be out of reach. "They chose their own fate. Don't let it faze you…" said Akihiko as he turned around to walk back.

"The operation has only begun…our true adversary is waiting…Focus on that, okay?" said Mitsuru.

Everyone stayed like this for a while until,

"…Let's go team. That last Shadow is waiting for us to fight it, so c'mon." spoke Hamuko coldly as she ran on ahead. But before she could get far, she tripped when Fuuka spoke up,

"What?! I'm sensing a Shadow back at the dorm!" she yelled, startling everyone as she kept speaking in a panicked voice. She clenched her fists together and began to blame herself for not noticing sooner. Hamuko smiled at her and shook her head,

"It's not your fault, Fuuka. The rest of you guys, go back to the dorm! The team I chose will stay behind with me! Go!" she ordered without delay and she ran off towards the Hanged Man Shadow, Aigis, Ken and Yukari right behind her.

"Alright, let's go." spoke Mitsuru as she lead the rest of the team back to the dorm…

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Minato's PoV

…Why I did I not realize that we'd be attacked by Shadows while the rest of the gang was gone? It was a pretty nasty one, too, one of those spinny tank-like enemies. Souji was knocked out cold from a hit to the head and he would likely not remember what would happen.

"Good thing he won't remember…" I said to Koromaru as he summoned Cerberus and commanded him to use Maragilao. The air was filled with cold air and a few icicles had formed in random spots around the outside of the dorm. Inside me, the twins were kicking rather furiously out of fear most likely. I didn't want to fight, but I had no choice, I had to fight to protect my babies.

"Throne! Mahamaon!" My dear friend popped out and summoned a bunch of light, but it missed and only killed a few minor minion Shadows that the pest had summoned. The Shadow proceeded to try and cast Bufudyne on me. Koromaru shoved me out of the way before it hit me and he got knocked to the ground.

Before either of us could get off of the ground, the Shadow cornered us both in an alleyway.

"Fuck!" I cursed; we're so fucking dead…

…And yet, we weren't hit.

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Hamuko's PoV

After I had ordered the rest of the team to go back to the dorm, my team plus Fuuka went to go fight the Hanged Man Shadow, now just a few feet away from us.

Soon, it noticed us and came down to fight us. Apparently it liked to fly. God forbid anyone would see that or they'd have a heart attack.

And its skin was being stretched in an unhealthy manner.

It set up three statues and floated back up into the air where we could not hit it at all. Fuuka informed us to focus on the statues for the time being. Each one had a weakness and an element it blocked. "Focus your elemental attacks on the ones you can hit!" I ordered.

I started the fight with a Makarakarn and the rest of my team chose to use their highest level of magic to attack the statues. They wobbled back and forth but did not fall down. I chose to switch to Thanatos to prepare a Tetrakarn the next round.

Yukari chose to use a Magarudyne, but she was interrupted when the Hanged Man chose to summon a Maya with a white mask.

"Great, it can summon Mayas…wonderful…" grumbled Ken as he summoned Kala-Nemi to use Hamaon on it. It missed and soon, the Hanged Man chose to do something to the Maya he just summoned.

It began to panic and flail about, unhuman noises coming from it.

I chose to guard, but the rest of the team chose to attack instead. Soon, the Shadow lit up like a bomb and the explosion was sent right at us. I was fine, but Yukari and Ken were knocked out cold. Aigis was fine, but low on health. She chose to use a Bead on herself and attack the last remaining statue, knocking it down and making the Hanged Man fall down to the ground hard with a thud.

Me and Aigis launched an all-out attack and did a good deal of damage. I went to work on reviving Ken and Yukari…"Note to self, Hamuko, make sure Ken doesn't wear that butler suit into a major boss fight." I said as I revived him and then I revived Yukari.

"Ken, next time, don't wear that suit into a battle…" I groaned as I set up another Tetrakarn. If we get hit now, we'd be knocked out for sure…

Yukari used Mediarahan and healed us all to full health. This cycle repeated for a while…

Half-an-hour later, we finally killed the last Full Moon Shadow and it dissapted into nothingness. We all let out a sigh of relief…it was finally over. I looked up at the sky, "_We did it, Shinjiro-senpai, we finally did it. We stopped all the full moon Shadows and avenged your death!"_ My hand started to feel sweaty and I wiped it on my skirt.

"We did it!" exclaimed Ken as he jumped in happiness. He _did_ look cute in that butler outfit….

Aigis soon piped up, "What shall our celebration cheer be?" she looked at me and Yukari. We both stared each other in the eye and said at once,

"Hip hip Hooray!" we yelled.

Aigis repeated the cheer and the four of us laughed for a moment until Yukari spoke up, "You know, I'm kinda sad to see the Dark Hour go after all this work…" she said, somewhat melancholy in her tone of voice.

"I know…" muttered Fuuka as she came back to us after she had left to go do something real quick. "But it's for the best…we saved the world, even if no one knows that we did…" she said. I nodded, but I soon felt a twinge of fear. Souji's words about the Chairman came back into my mind. But why, we could trust the Chairman…why doesn't he trust him?

I pushed such thoughts into the back of my mind and asked, "Fuuka, what did you say to Mitsuru and the others…?" I was curious to know what had happened back at the dorm and so did the rest of us. "Is Minato and Souji okay? What about Koromaru?" asked Ken as he stretched his arms and legs for a bit.

Fuuka nodded in a happy manner, "Yes, she just informed me that Souji is okay with a minor head injury, but he'll be fine. Minato-senpai and Koro-chan are okay too…" she trailed off and soon said that Chidori had been there as well. Apparently, she had gotten out of the hospital and went to the dorm for some reason.

"…I see, so is she going to be a problem?" I asked, rubbing my forehead. Fuuka shook her head, "No, she left just before the others got there…"

"I see…" I replied, "Let's go back…"

' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' '

(Slightly before the Hanged Man was defeated)

"Bark, whine!" yipped Koromaru as he pulled at my leg. I moved out of my defensive stance and opened my eyes to see the Shadow wrapped up and tangled in chains.

"_What, how?! How did a Shadow…oh, wait…this happened back in April…"_

My jaw dropped open and so did Koromaru's.

"That's far enough. You've done enough damage." said a female voice, one that we recognized as belonging to…Chidori Yoshino. She walked out of the Shadows, still hanging onto the chain, which I now saw as being attached to an axe.

My gut wrenched; it reminded me of Shinjiro…everything these days reminded me of Shinjiro.

But why was Chidori here at the dorm instead of the hospital? I made a mental note to ask her later and thanked her for coming to our aid. She nodded and she grabbed her Evoker to summon Medea, commanding it to use Agidyne on the large Shadow, finally defeating it and we all watched as it dissipated into nothing.

Me and Koromaru both let out a sigh of relief and took a moment to calm down before we started asking Chidori why she was here. There must be a reason why she's here again.

But before we could ask, her eyes widened as she laid eyes on Souji, "…It can't be…is it really him, after all these years?" she spoke as she ran over to his unconscious body, checking his pulse and everything else. We walked over as well, and I asked the question, "How did you escape from the hospital and why are you here?" She, at first, did not answer as she kept checking Souji's body. I could hear Koromaru growling a bit, but I stopped him from going at Chidori and waited for her to reply with an answer.

"It was easy; the guards were coffins, so I could slip out rather unnoticed. And it didn't take me long for me to find this dorm at all…" she paused before continuing, a chuckle of amusement coming from her,

"And what about you? Why are you here with the dog? And…you're pregnant…" she saw my stomach up close for the first time and was baffled by it. I guess she's never seen a pregnant person up close before by her reaction.

I decided to answer her,

"Koromaru here stayed behind with me to protect me and Souji…" Literately as soon as I said my friend's name, she gasped in shock and grabbed me,

"This is Souji!?" she yelled as if she knew him.

Koromaru's PoV

Mina-chan looked scared when Chidori grabbed him like that; anyone would be. I let out a whine as I sniffed Bowl-Cut's knocked-out body and soon, he began to wake up…moaning in pain. Chidori rushed past me and held Souji close to her body. Just what was she thinking?

"…Wha? Huh?" he moaned as his eyes opened, staring right up at the girl. She was crying in what seemed like joy to me. Humans can be so confusing sometimes…

After what seemed like forever, he spoke again, "…Who are you and why are you holding me?" he got up and out of her arms in confusion. Chidori seemed shocked by his reaction, "What do you mean 'Who are you?' It's me, Chidori! Your big sister!" she said in an energetic way, waving her hands in a dramatic manner.

…Big sister? Chidori was his and Akihiko's littermate? Now I'm REALLY confused. Souji paused, unsure of what to say, his face looked like he was deep in thought. After a while, he responded,

"…Nee…san? Nee-san…is that…you?" he seemed to have remembered her as she got up and hugged him back, him doing the same tight hug.

Soon, Chidori went into a long explanation on how she knew him, but Souji only seemed to recall certain parts of their shared past. He remembered nothing of the Dark Hour, but there was one thing she said that bothered me.

That last night she spent with Souji was 10 years ago on the night of the Moonlight Bridge explosion. I wasn't alive back then, but Mitsuru-chan told everyone that a large explosion had occurred and that very explosion had taken the lives of Hamuko and Minato's parents. It seemed not much was made public, but I had overheard The Punmaker talking about 'a large Shadow that would save us all.' and 'Make sure they keep killing those 12 Shadows.'

Suddenly, I caught the scents of everyone else coming back and barked to let them know they were coming.

"Chidori, you may want to leave. Like now!" yelled Minato as he scrambled to come up with an excuse for Mitsuru and the others.

She took one look at Souji and left out an open window.

Minato's PoV

"There goes Chidori…" I muttered, rubbing my pregnant belly as I sat down on the couch in exhaustion and relief. Souji sat down next to me along with Koromaru.

' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' '

11/4/2009 Early Morning, Souji's room

4:00 am, same day.

Souji's PoV

So apparently, I got knocked out last night by a falling light fixture from what Minato-senpai told me.

"Yeah right, liar. I know better…can't hide shit like that from me forever, I'll find out the truth." I knew Minato was lying, but it would be pointless to press the matter. After staring up at my room's ceiling for forever, I decided to read another part of Shinji's diary and resume where I left off. I came to the realization that Shinji must have been killed in a random crime.

There's no such thing as a Persona…

The room had gotten musty, so I opened the window for some fresh air. It was barely light outside, so not many people were up at this time, save for the busy workers. I envy those bastards; my brother was a hard worker as a kid.

Before I went to go read, something out the corner of my eye caught my attention: Chidori, the woman who visited us last night at the dorm.

No one else knew she had come here, just me, Minato-senpai, and Koromaru. It took a lot of lying for Minato to convince the others nothing bad had happened. Strangely enough, there was ice here and there, scattered about all over the dorm. Everyone worked for an hour to remove it all, even the Chairman.

My head suddenly started to hurt a LOT, like a 1,000 needles were coming out from inside my head, so I let out a pained cry and slid to the floor, clutching my head in pain. Soon, loud footsteps came from outside and my door flew open, my brother Akihiko and the Chairman came up to me.

"H-hey, what's wrong!?" he yelled, touching my head gently. I cried but much quieter as he rubbed it softly to try and alleviate my pain somehow. Ikutsuki asked what had happened and I told them,

"…I opened the window for some fresh air 'cause my room had gotten stuffy and I was about to lie back down on the bed when I saw a girl…she had red hair and that's when my head started to hurt." a tear came out of my eye and my brother wiped it away.

"Hmmm…I wonder…could it be her, Akihiko? I don't recall anyone else with red hair that I've seen recently." asked the Chairman as he tried to figure out the cause of my pain. He stayed like that for a while until more loud footsteps started up and soon, everyone in the fucking dorm was in my room. How everyone is fitting in here is beyond my mental reach at the moment.

"What's going on?! What's wrong with Souji-kun!?" gasped Fuuka as she came and hugged me gently, rubbing my back as I burst out sobbing in pain as my headache grew worse again. The Chairman and my brother looked out the window…

Akihiko's PoV

Just what did my brother see to cause him such pain? "Akihiko, over there! Look!" pointed the Chaiman as he directed my attention to the entrance of our dorm. It was Chidori! How did she escape!? My heart raced as I took off, running outside the room, down the stairs, and practically ripped the door open to go after her. "Senpai, wait up!" Junpei's voice was right behind me, I glanced behind me and made eye contact.

"Junpei, I know you don't want to fight…" I began, but he cut me off as we both turned a corner to get to Chidori. He grunted in annoyance; not pleased with what I was saying. Soon he began talking and saying that Chidori wasn't a bad person.

…Stockholm Syndrome, anyone? I mean really, she kidnaps him and he says she's a good person? I shake my head as we find Chidori, standing at the end of the alleyway. We took a moment to catch our breath before Junpei walked up to her and smiled,

"Hey, Chidori…um…"

She turned to face him and returned the smile, "Junpei…I…" she paused before she began to speak again, saying something that caught us both by surprise.

"…You were wondering why I'm not in the hospital, aren't you? Well if you must know, I was here because I overheard you talking about Souji the last time you were in the hospital, so…I came here." she finished, somewhat amused by Junpei and Akihiko's reaction of shock. She twirled around her hair as the two began to talk with each other in a whisper. After a moment, they both turned around,

Akihiko was the first to speak up with a question,

"You know my younger brother?" he asked, somewhat stressing the question with a growl. He was not amused that she was here and not in the hospital. She nodded and began to tell them how she knew Souji.

What she told them made their stomachs knot up in horror; Souji had been used as an experiment in a secret Kirijo project?

"Mitsuru did mention something like that not too long ago, is that what you're talking about? Takaya and Jin were part of this?" asked Junpei, somewhat unsure how to ask his crush another question. Scratching his chin didn't help distract him.

The red haired girl chuckled,

"Yes, they were. I was the third one to be taken to be experimented on. Souji was right after me…he was lucky to even survive. There's something I wish to ask you…" she paused, unsure if she should ask this question. Would they accept her as a member of SEES, even after she had kidnapped Junpei and held him hostage?

The fact that Souji was not only alive, but had not forgotten her was enough motivation for her to make up her mind.

Takaya and Jin had done enough damage in her eyes. And she had been so blind to it all.

"What do you want to say, Chidori?" asked Junpei, smiling his grin. Chidori summed her courage and asked if she could join SEES…

' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' '

Minato's PoV

So Chidori asked to join SEES? That took me by surprise, even when Junpei said it was her idea and not his own. I rubbed my forehead; was this a good idea? I turned to ask Mitsuru this. She replied rather calmly, much more calmly than I thought she would.

"She seems to have changed a lot thanks to Iori, not to mention she seems to get along well with Souji-kun. I think…it would be a good thing for her to join. She'd be able to help us with detailed information about the Dark hour…" she paused, hesitating to say what I knew she would most likely say, "…and that experiment she talked about bothers me."

I nodded and smiled, hoping to change the topic,

"…So have you thought of any names for the twins?" I was hopeful she'd pick out some good ones. As if she was reading my mind, she chuckled and answered,

"Since your twins will be born in the springtime around the beginning of March, I chose the names Haruko and Michiko. I won't pressure you to pick those names; I thought you'd like them." she smiled a smile I had not seen before, so I thanked her for the names and wrote them down on my list of baby names.

"_She must have changed her mind on them being boys…maybe she secretly wants the twins to be girls."_

"I see you've made quite the list already, Minato…" she peered down at my list, which was almost full on the first page.

"And it's rather long now that I look at it. You've been busy…"

"I have; everyone's given me names, even my friends at school have pitched in! I swear, I have so many names on this list!"

We laughed for a while…until Ikutsuki called us over to talk about Chidori joining us. We all sat down in the command room.

"As you can see, Chidori has decided to join us." he said, looking at her briefly before continuing to talk. She wasn't really talking to anyone expect Souji and Junpei. Social skills she was definitely lacking; she wasn't making eye contact with anyone else.

"She was part of Strega, but she has switched sides." he added.

"It seems like she made the decision to join us because of Junpei's influence." he said, glancing at Junpei, who was grinning his usual grin.

Souji as sitting next to her, I noticed as they were talking to each other as if they had not been separated in forever. They really must have missed each other. They seemed to be talking about what they had been through since they had been separated so man years ago. Chidori told him about her life in Strega, but Souji only was able to understand bits and pieces of her story. She seemed to talking about Takaya and Jin's abusive behavior towards her. "Poor girl, she's had it rough…and yet she had the strength to give Souji a better life…" I muttered as I sat back down on one of the chairs near the kitchen. It creaked a little,

"This thing needs oil…" I muttered in annoyance.

He soon told her about his life in the orphanage and meeting his brother and sister for the first time. He even told her about his burn scars that he had gotten during the fire, the time he tried to stop Akihiko and Shinjiro from stealing a doll from a toy store, and a lot of other stuff.

After a while, the Chairman ended the meeting and we all went back to what we had been doing beforehand. Koromaru was with Ken, chewing on a bone and watching Phoenix Rangerman on TV. Mitsuru and Akihiko were debating on what to do next. Mot likely, they were talking about school, but I did overhear something about a party. Junpei practically begged her to order a shit ton of sushi.

Junpei, _again_, was talking to Chidori after she had finished with talking to Souji-kun. He can't stay away from her at all. Souji had left to go upstairs for some reason. He must be tired; we've been talking on and off all day, no wonder the poor kid's dead tired. He might oversleep tomorrow, so I guess I'll wake him up when we need to go to school. It's his first day there tomorrow, after all. I remember mine.

Soon, it was time to go to sleep…would the Dark Hour be gone? Part of me expressed doubts, but I kept them secret, hoping not to put any more pressure on the team even though I didn't fight anymore.

As I got in bed, I soon fell asleep…dreaming of Shinjiro again…

The next morning…

11/5/2009 Early morning

Minato's PoV

"Good Morning." said a voice I had missed dearly, Pharos had come back, but during the daytime. I got up on my elbows and smiled, "Hey Pharos, it's been a while…" I said, still half-asleep. The child smiled back,

"I remember everything now, about the End and all…" he said, looking away upset. "I…will be going soon…" he sighed. My heart wrenched; I liked him and he was leaving for good? Part of me knew why…and soon, he left, leaving me alone most likely for good this time. I wonder if he saw Hamuko before he left? She liked him just as much as I did.

I remembered after I had glanced at the calendar that my next ultrasound was today. Today would be the day we'd know the genders of the twins inside me. My intuition told me they'd be girls. After I got dressed, I went to see Hamuko standing right outside my door. From her sad expression, she must have already seen Pharos. Gently, I touched her shoulder and comforted her until she felt better.

"Thanks…" she said, and that's all she said on the way to school. As we walked up to the school gates, I overheard two girls talking about a new transfer student in my classroom. I left and went to my classroom and sat in my seat. As soon as I sat down, I could hear the snickers of some of the boys behind me. Those boys hated me for some reason and kept teasing me on being pregnant, even going as far as insulting Shinjiro's death.

"_Remind me to punch them later…"_ I told Orpheus in my mind. Soon, Ms. Toriumi silenced the classroom and began to speak, "Alright everyone, we have a new transfer student…" When the transfer student walked in, I swear to god my heart stopped…


	11. Chapter 11

What He Left Behind Chapter 11-New crush…and death again…

(Takeharu dies in this chapter)

11/5/2009 Early Morning

Hamuko's PoV

Holy shit, the new student next to Souji-kun looks just like Pharos! "_How is this even possible?! There's no way he'd be able to grow up that quickly!"_ I fumbled to think of a plausible theory, but nothing came up. Eurydice soon piped up in my head, saying that that teen could very well be Pharos.

"_He did just regain his memories. Maybe he changed? He's most likely not human if that's true. Keep your guard up."_ she said, vanishing and going back into my mind. What she said had to be at least partly true; Pharos had slowly been remembering things about the End ever since he started showing up and had finally remembered everything, though he wouldn't divulge any info. Gee, thanks…jerk…

Soon, I remembered that Mitsuru's father, Takeharu would be coming by the dorm to celebrate the end of the Dark Hour…and yet, I could not shake this feeling of dread that was growing. "I thought I got rid of that feeling after the final battle…" I muttered.

I glanced over at my twin, who seemed to be staring at the new guy. I wonder what he is thinking right now? He seems to be staring at the new guy…

Minato's PoV

It has to be him, it has to be Pharos! There's no one else with that beauty mark under the left eye except for Saori, Hamuko-chan's friend who had left oversees due to the scandal at school lately. Souji was nervous as hell; he had never been to school in a while. I hope he does well…

But that new guy…he's rather…attractive…really attractive…. I haven't felt this way about anyone expect Shinjiro. Had my broken heart finally begun to heal? As if they agreed with my mind, the twins kicked me at the same time, both right in my ribs where they just loved to kick me. "Maybe…he is Pharos somehow…" I muttered. Soon, the new guy spoke up after Ms. Toriumi told him to.

"Hello, my name is Ryoji Mochizuki. It's nice to meet you!" he said with his hand on his chest and a grin on his face. He seemed to be staring at me and I did the only logical thing to do: Blush like a school kid with a crush. Does he have interest in me? Soon, Ryoji said hello to Aigis. And that's when shit got weird…

"Hello, what's-!" he was interrupted when Aigis glared at him, "You…are dangerous…" she said, angry and she looked like she was about to punch him. But Ms. Toriumi stopped her,

"Aigis, I know you haven't had the spotlight of being the new kid for very long, but you need to let the new kid have a chance here, okay? And that goes for Souji as well…" she said curtly, grabbing the papers tightly in her hands. Come to think of it, Maya-san on the Internet said she was a teacher.

"…" Aigis stopped talking and sat back down, still glaring at Ryoji. I wonder why she hates him so much? He just came here…soon, Ryoji was told to sit next to me and he sat down, smiling at me with a smile that made me blush. The rest of class went rather slowly like time had been slowed down or something. After class was let out, Ms. Toriumi stopped me and told me to talk with her.

"Minato, I know this question might be rather invasive, but I need to know…will you stay in school after your child is born?" she asked in a professional manner. I smiled, and that confused her.

"Actually, I'm having twins…and I'm getting another ultrasound to see what genders they are…" I said rather warmly. The ultrasound was scheduled right after school got out today.

"I will most likely stay in school until they are born, then I might take a break…but I do want an education…" I answered her question with a small smile. She smiled back at me, "That's great to hear that you are taking your education so seriously! Now…" she trailed off and soon asked nervously,

"I know this…might seem like I'm being nosy, but…do you know you the father is?" she asked slowly. I nodded and told her about Shinjiro. Her expression soon turned sad,

"How horrible…Minato, I'm sorry…to lose your lover like that must still take its toll on you…" she said, "You may go now…" she said, going back to her desk. She began shuffling papers and muttering to herself.

When I got out of the classroom, literally everyone was standing there. It seems they overheard everything I told the teacher. "I'm so sorry to hear about that, Senpai. Is there anything we can to make it better?" one girl asked. I shook my head and smiled,

"I'm okay. Thanks anyway." I said, walking through the crowd and down the stairs. When I got to the school store, I bumped into Ryoji again, and it seems like he had been talking to Yuko and Kazushi. He smiled at me,

"Minato is your name, right?" he asked and I nodded dumbly, still blushing from bumping into him. Soon he began talking about taking me out to dinner at Paulownia Mall, saying something about a great restaurant with good coffee. I agreed,

"Oh that's great! I wanted to talk to you anyway!" he smiled and walked off and I stared at him with my mouth open. He just asked me out? Already? Me and Shinjiro didn't start going out on dates until after the first time we had sex…

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_Flashback_

_9/21_

_Minato sat down next to his boyfriend Shinjiro as they found a place to sit. It was in the Iwotodai Strip Mall and Minato had expressed interest in going there. As Minato ordered his food, Shinjiro asked a question._

_"Is everyone eating alright, Mina-kun?" he asked as Minato took his first bite of udon noodles. His bluenette lover swallowed his food and replied, _

_"You mean eating healthy?" Shinjiro nodded, "Mitsuru is eating right and so is everyone else expect for Junpei and Akihiko. Akihiko keep eating noting but meat and Junpei eats almost nothing but junk food._

_Shinjiro rubbed the bridge of his nose in dismay; he'd have to get back to Aki on this. He sighed and began eating his food._

_Minato smiled at him and he blushed. Damnit, didn't he know that he couldn't resist that stare he gave him?!_

_And now he was eating the noodles in a manner that should have been illegal! "__**Oh god, don't get a hard-on now!**__" he wished in his head. His lover slowly licked the soup off his lips, asking his lover in an innocent manner what was wrong._

_"You do realize we're in a public place, Mina-chan, don't you!?" hissed the brunette in half-frustration and half-arousal. Part of him admitted to wanting to have public sex, but this was just too much for him to handle. He got up, grabbed Minato's hand, and dragged him into the restroom…_

_He made sure to lock the bathroom door and pinned his lover to the wall, kissing him roughly and smirked as his lover moaned. "Didn't take you long to do that, now, did you?" teased Minato in a singsong voice as he got to work on undoing his senpai's pants and belt._

_Before Shinjiro knew, Minato had undone his pants and belt and kneeled down and began to lick his cock. "F-fuck! Damnit, do ya wanna get caught!?" he growled, trying his hardest not to moan out loud. He stared down at his lover, who had his dick in his mouth and was sucking on the tip._

_"Hmmm, Senpai tastes good…" said Minato as he licked to the base and back again, "Very good…" he finished. He kept this pace until Shinjiro stopped him. His face was red and flushed._

_"Damnit, if you keep that up…." he said, pulling his lover up and turning him around to face the wall. Minato moaned as Shinjiro pushed a finger inside him, "I won't be able to hold back." he finished as he pushed another finger inside._

_Soon, he pushed inside him and the two started having sex…_

' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' '

I shook my head; no, Ryoji had just met me…but now that I thought back on it, the way the passion between my dead lover and me had started in this very manner. I soon began walking towards the train and got on to head towards Paulownia Mall. My mind wandered to thoughts of Ryoji.

"D-damnit, n-no, I'm not-!" I stuttered and shook my head of the growing sexual thoughts I was getting. I soon forgot about them and began wondered about how Souji's first day at Gekkokan High was. He seemed to be awful shy, too. I just hoped he was okay…

The train stopped and I got off and headed towards the mall and soon saw Ryoji sitting on the bench and he waved at me. "Hey Minato! There you are!" he got up and ran towards me and chuckled. He smiled at me…

"_There goes that weird feeling again…his smile reminds me of Pharos…"_ I thought as we headed into Café Chagall and sat down in the nearest table. Just as we sat down, I heard the voice of my sister Hamuko. She smiled at us both and sat down. Ryoji turned to me and said,

"I wanted Hamuko here as well…" his voice turned serious for a moment and I swore that he had been replaced by a clone! I tilted my head in confusion and my sister explained it to me. Apparently, he had asked both of us to come here to talk to us about something.

Ryoji soon spoke; "You must be wondering why I am here in this form…" he began. I asked what he meant by that and Hamuko added her own question. She asked if he knew anyone by the name of Pharos.

He smiled at those words and answered, "Yes, I do…what I am about to say may shock you both…" both of us stayed quiet as he hesitated to speak, "…I was Pharos…once." Those words shocked us both; he used to be Pharos, my dear friend? How could something like that even be possible?

"_Unless…Pharos was never human to begin with, that might explain this…"_ I thought, my mouth wide open from shock. Ryoji looked at Hamuko, and then at me. He must have remembered his memories from the time he was Pharos and asked us to come here.

"So you…are or were Pharos, Ryoji-kun?" asked Hamuko as she took a sip of coffee. He nodded. She stayed quiet for a moment until Ryoji spoke up again, this time asking if anyone at the dorm knew who I was. We both shook our heads no and he didn't ask anymore about the matter.

"So I wanted to ask you both something…do you remember anything of what happened 10 years ago on the Moonlight Bridge?" We nodded in unison, "Yes, our parents died and our sister Naoto was taken by Social Services to live with our grandfather, but what do you mean by this question? Is there something else you remember, Ryoji?" asked Hamuko as she finished her coffee and asked the waitress to take the cup away.

Ryoji suddenly looked very sad, "I know…that I am not human, but a Shadow born from the union of the 12 Shadows that you and your friends have defeated on each Full Moon."

That caught our full attention.

"Wait…so you mean you're a fusion of all of them and you regained your memories the night after we defeated the Hanged Man? If so…then, do you know anything about the Fall you've talked about so much?" I asked, worry filling my heart. I rubbed my stomach and both of my twins kicked like mad, as if they sensed I was getting scared.

"Being pregnant must be hard on you, huh Minato?" asked Ryoji as he leaned over to rub my stomach. I nodded, "Yeah, it is…my lover died before he even knew he was to become a father. But I have my friends with me as support, so it isn't all that hard."

The twins soon calmed down and Ryoji sat back in his chair, "Yes I know we don't have a lot of time before it happens. We have until January 31st before she comes and ends life as we know it…" he said shaking in fear.

"Wait, who's 'she'?" asked my sister as she began eating a slice of cake. Ryoji responded in a very grave voice, "Nyx…that is who will bring about the Fall…"

Nyx? I've never heard of anything with that name…

"…And I'm the Appraiser, the one who will summon her to the top of Tartarus. My existence will bring this world to ruin if Nyx isn't stopped."

The Appraiser? The one who will summon her?

"So, you're our enemy then? Why tell us all this?" I shook in fear as I said that…Ryoji shook his head no, and said that he didn't want the world to end. He, despite his creation, wanted to save the world and was now defying his role as the Appraiser.

I held Ryoji's hand gently and stared him in the eyes, "Don't worry, we'll tell everyone about this and get this solved. We've defeated all twelve of those Shadows, so we can defeat this Nyx and save the world!" I said with confidence.

"We'll solve this, Ryoji." My hand tingled with warmth as I let go of his hand.

He smiled at me and the conversation ended there. Hamuko checked her cellphone and told the time, "It's almost the Dark Hour…and we're so far away from the others, too…this ain't good." she said as she put her phone in her pocket. Under her jacket pocket, I saw her Evoker and mine as well. She must have brought mine just in case we got separated.

Soon, the world changed and all electronics stopped working. But why, I thought we'd gotten rid of the Dark Hour? Why was it arriving like it had done before?

Ryoji frowned, "This world…it feels like everything has died…and yet, it feels at peace." he said as he looked at both of us. He asked how far it was to our dorm. The dorm was on the other side of Tatsumi Port Island; it would take us a while to get there.

He shuddered, "I'm sensing a lot of bad energy there…we need to hurry…" Bad energy? What did he mean by that? I decided not to ask him.

We took off on Hamuko's Persona, Kohryu and began to fly towards the dorm as fast as Kohryu could manage. "I'll try and head there as fast as I can, but I can only fly so fast, Hamuko…" he said in a deep voice. Hamuko thanked him for helping us out and rubbed his scales

"Minato, we'd better get ready." said Orpheus as he appeared next to me. I nodded and began to check our item supply.

We didn't have much to use, but it would have to be enough. We had no time to waste. Just as I put my bag away, I heard someone trying to contact my mind. It was the panicked voice of Chidori, and she seemed rather starled,

"Oh thank goodness I could contact you both…" she said and she began to relay what had happened at the dorm. "The Chairman's gone crazy!" she yelled.

"What!?" both me and Hamuko yelled in unison. "But the Dark Hour should have been gone by now after what we all did!" yelled my sister as she began to panic.

"I know, but he's taken me and Souji up to the top the school's observation deck along with Mitsuru's father! He's planning something bad! St-" she was cut off and we couldn't hear anything else.

She must have realized that

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Normal PoV

Dark Hour, Entrance of Tartarus

Ikutsuki stood at the entrance, a brainwashed Aigis by his side, ready to receive his orders. The Chairman had been waiting for this moment for so long it hurt. But soon, he would bring about the Fall and the world would fall. It would be free from the race of humanity…

Soon, the bell inside Tartarus rang and SEES came.

He greeted them with a smile.

"Ikutsuki-san!" yelled Akihiko as the rest of his friends came up behind him. Yukari soon noticed that Aigis was standing next to him and was alarmed,

"Aigis? Why are you here…?" she slowly asked. Aigis didn't respond.

Ikutsuki stepped forward a bit, "She is merely here to fufill her role—as a weapon." he replied, rather calmly. Yukari was confused by this answer, "Huh?"

Junpei growled, "Ikutsuki-san, what's this all about?!"

Akihiko calmed down and spoke, "You said the Dark Hour and Tartarus would disappear if we defeated the 12 Shadows. That's why we fought so hard! But, now…"

"What is your intention?" asked Mitsuru. Her friends were confused by this question. Mitsuru added, "It was all a lie, wasn't it?" she said.

"You knew from the beginning that the Dark Hour wouldn't disappear."

"Excellent deduction, Mitsuru." replied Ikutsuki in a condescending manner. "Unfortunately, your realization has come too late."

"No…" said Yukari as she and the others began to realize that they had been tricked.

"You tricked us?!" asked Ken.

"Everything is as I planned…" said Ikutsuki as he glanced to the side for a moment. "It is not unexpected that the Dark Hour and Tartarus remain. In fact, I never intended for you to rid the world of them. Quite the opposite, acutally."

"What do you mean?" asked Fuuka. Ikutsuki soon had a twisted smile on his face, "The 12 Shadows were parts of a whole. They were destined to be reunited…and that was accomplished in no small part, thanks to your efforts." he chuckled. "Soon, Death, the almighty, shall arise and bring forth the Fall…"

"…Death?" asked Ken.

Akihiko grew angry again, "What are you talking about!?"

Ikutsuki extended his hands in an odd gesture, "The end of all shall come and free this world from despair…the death of everything…but also the beginning."

"Wh-what is he saying…? Is he out of his mind…?" asked Yukari.

"Ten years ago…I, too, was a scientist for the project we've spoken of. The experiment went awry, but that is not why the Dark Hour and Tartarus were born. They manifested as a result of harvesting the Shadows' power—just as the experiment was designed to do…" he looked at Mitsuru,

"That is why your grandfather gathered so many Shadows…to bring about the Fall." he finished.

"That can't be…" gasped Mitsuru in complete horror.

"People have filled the world, yet turned it into a void!" added Ikutsuki, "The only hope for salvation lies in ruin!" he said, putting his hands and arms back down.

"According to the prophecy…The Fall will be orchestrated by "the Prince." And once the Prince has delivered us all, he shall rule the new world as King! The man who tried it ten years ago failed. But I will not; I shall succeed!" he finished.

"Man, he's totally lost it…" said Junpei.

"I apologize for deceiving you, but this was for your own sake as well…" said the Chairman, his face returning to normal. "If you follow me for just a little while longer, you, too, will find salvation."

"You call that salvation!?" said Fuuka in dismay. Yukari snapped, "…I have a question for you."

"Yes?" groaned the Chairman.

"In the video from my father…he said to defeat the Shadows…was that a lie, too?" she asked.

"Ah…he did record that himself…of course, I had to make some modifications." said Ikutsuki as he smiled in response to Yukari's question.

"…You doctored it!?" yelled Mitsuru, even more appalled than before.

"I CORRECTED it." snapped the Chairman. He soon had that creepy smile again, "Your father was a superb scientist…he may not have known it, but I truly respected him. While others focused on the Shadows' abilities, he explored much more important things…but unfortunately, he could not comprehend the magnificent potential of the Fall."

"What?" that was all Yukari could get out. Her voice could not say another word.

"He left that recording at the expense of his own life." said Mitsuru, her voice rising.

"It would seem so…but, it did prove rather useful, so I'm sure he's happy." said the Chairman.

"So you were behind it all!? You used both me and my father!" yelled Yukari, finding her courage. She was angry that the adult in front of her had betrayed her and her friends in such a manner.

"Used is such an ugly word…it was for the sake of the world, so how could it be wrong?" asked Ikutsuki in an annoyed voice.

"Our role is to correct the mistakes of the past…" said Mitsuru as she grabbed her Evoker. "…And we intend to do just that."

"H-hey, w-wait…" said Junpei, hesitating to draw his Evoker like the rest of his friends.

*Sigh* "…How disappointing, I was hoping that you would see the light." said Ikutsuki sighing with disappointment, shaking his head. "But, you are just children, after all. I suppose it can't be helped."

"Aigis!" he commanded in a firm voice. "The time has come for you to fufill your role. Capture them, and prepare them to be sacrificed!" He pulled out a remote and pressed a button.

"…Understood." said Aigis in a monotone voice. She jumped towards her friends…

' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' '

Souji's PoV

_"…I knew the Chairman was bad, but never did I think it would be this horrible…"_ I thought as I tried yet again to break free from the restraints on the cross I was being hung up on. Chidori was next to me and she looked rather exhausted. Takeharu was being held by Aigis, who seemed to be under some sort of spell. No matter how hard me or Chidori yelled, she didn't hear us.

Soon, the others were hung up on each one of the crosses…wait a moment…"Where is Hamuko-san and Minato-san? And Koromaru for that matter?" I muttered out loud by accident. Ikutsuki-san overheard me and grinned.

"They will come for you and the others soon enough…" he said as he dug into his pocket and began to pull out a large wad of paper, starting to look at it. It seemed rather large, just how did he manage to fit it in his pocket?

"Ah, Souji Seta, you have quite the backstory it seems." he began to talk about my past, some of which seemed to be rather…impossible. Some of the stuff he was talking about made no sense: Strega, the Dark Hour, all of which seemed like something from a novel. But the one thing he said that scared me was…

"You're awake during this time and yet…you haven't been eaten by the Shadows…" Shadows, is that what those monsters are called?

"…You must have the potential then, tell me, do you have a Persona?" he asked rather calmly considering I was his hostage. "Why do you want to know, anyway?" asked Chidori next to me. We both looked to see her waking up from her knocked out state. She stared Ikutsuki right in his eyes and asked in a calm voice, her eyes filled with anger.

"Why are you doing this? And for what reasons have you taken most of us here? You must have some reason for deceiving us." she stated rather calmly. Before the Chairman could respond, the others began to wake up.

"What is going on here!?" asked Mitsuru's father in a rather angry voice.

"What the hell!?" came Junpei's voice. Everyone else woke up not a second later, each with their own reactions of shock.

"You guys are awake…thank goodness…" I said with relief, but it quickly left me as worry came over me. What if Ikutsuki already killed the others?

"What is this!?" yelled Yukari. Mitsuru looked around and soon laid eyes on her father being held by Aigis.

"Father!" she yelled, trying to break free. "Aigis!?"

"It's no use, Aigis is under his control somehow. I've tried to get her to listen, but nothing me or Chidori did could wake her up…" I said sadly. She looked at me with shock, "What?"

Mitsuru's father decided to speak again, "Ikutsuki…what is the meaning of this!?" he stared up at me, "…and why have you dragged Souji into this mess? He doesn't have a Persona…" he asked again.

Ikutsuki decided to answer, "Why, you ask?" he shook his head as if Mitsuru's father was stupid to ask that question.

Ikutsuki laughed, "It is just as it appears…they are sacrifices-harbingers of the Fall." he let out an even bigger laugh. Psycho…

He failed to even notice a furry white shape slowly sneaking by. I was the one to notice the shape and my eyes soon saw Koromaru trying to break me free with his weapon. Sweet, he came to save us! As the Chairman was making his speech, Koromaru broke me free and I landed on the ground as quietly as possible.

"Thanks…now free the others…huh?" In my excitement of being freed, I had failed to notice that Ikutsuki had spotted me, though he couldn't see Koromaru at all. He grabbed a gun out of his coat and aimed it at me.

"Oh no…" was all I could say before he pulled the trigger…

"Hngh!" came the voice of Mitsuru's father. I opened my eyes and saw him standing in front of me, shielding me from the bullet. My eyes widened in shock and I felt unable to move even an inch…

"Father!" yelled Mitsuru in horror as he kneeled to the ground, clutching his stomach in pain. Ikutsuki growled, "Fool…why even try to save that boy…?" he asked, in genuine confusion as he stared at the injured form of Mitsuru's father. He fell to the ground, bleeding…

"You son of a bitch! I'm gonna rip your head off!" yelled Junpei, trying to break free. Ikutsuki tried to command Aigis to aim at him, but Koromaru snatched the remote away and broke it in two.

"The prophecy…it was almost to be fulfilled. You…" he grew angrier with every second that went by.

"Death as a deliverance…that is not a ideology anyone should ever embrace!" yelled a familiar voice from above. It was the voice of Ryoji, the other new guy from school. "Heeey! They came…wait, is that Ryoji from school!?" yelled Junpei as Ryoji and Hamuko came down.

It was then I saw a large dragon in the sky and Minato-senpai was riding it. He must be worried about us to have come all this way despite being pregnant.

"Sorry we're late! Had a long talk with Ryoji!" yelled Hamuko as she got to work snapping Aigis out of her hypnotized state. "Huh?" our friend soon woke up from her brainwashed state.

I sighed with relief; she would be okay. Now to go check up on Mitsuru's father…

Hamuko's PoV

Thank goodness we got here just in time. Just as we freed the others, I laid eyes on Takeharu-san with Souji nearby his side along with Mitsuru. My gut wretched; were we too late to save everyone? Before we could act any further, I heard the voice of the Chairman. I turned to see him aiming a gun at Mitsuru.

"Watch out!" I yelled.

"Ten years…" yelled Ikutsuki as he raised his gun at me again, "I've wasted ten long years for this moment…"

He fired, but missed and stumbled backwards near the edge of the observation deck and fell off, barely uttering a scream as he plummeted to what would most likely be his death. "He was insane…" I said as I walked back over to Mitsuru, now standing over the dead body of her father. Souji was nearby in equal shock.

"How did it come to this?" asked Yukari, finally able to get a word out of her mouth. She couldn't believe what had just happened and neither could I. How could the Chairman we all had trusted go ahead and kill Takeharu, not to mention try and kill all of them?

"…One time, my father made a promise. He swore that he would atone for endangering our generation, even if it cost him his life…" she said staring at Souji who had gone into shock. She sunk lower, "But, I…I wanted him to live…I…I became a Persona user to protect him…"

I kneeled down to her level and gently pulled her closer…

Eventually, we all left for the dorm except for Mitsuru, Akihiko, myself, my brother Minato, Souji, Chidori, and Ryoji as we had gone home separately after we had contacted the police about the body. All of us wanted to help her feel better in any way we could. Us girls were sitting-more like laying on her bed to comfort her with hugs. I knew how she felt; it was awful to lose a father. She also told me once that she had lost her mother too…

She had died protecting someone, she said, but that was all she had been told by her father and now she would likely never know the full story of her mother's death.

(Author's Note: From a few chapters ago, this has changed from staying canon for the most part to an AU(Alternate Universe) fanfic. It will still be mostly canon plot-wise from the game, but after a certain point, it will be fully AU until the second arc of this story. Yes, I do plan on writing through the P3 epilogue and through Persona 4 and Persona 4 Arena.)


	12. Chapter 12

What He Left Behind Chapter 12-Mitsuru's past revealed and new lust/Genders revealed

(Ryoji x Akihiko x Minato triangle, past Shinjiro x Minato, slight Fuuka x Yukari, slight Mitsuru x Aigis, Ken x Hamuko, Junpei x Chidori, Takaya x Jin.)

11/6/2009 early morning

6:00 am

Minato's PoV

I sighed; last night was brutal on all of us, mostly on Mitsuru due to the death of her father.

The twins inside me and been kicking me on and off all night, so I got no sleep for the most part. I was about nearly seven months along now.

Only two months left until Shinji's children are born. I've slowly managed to move on from his brutal death and I think I found someone new, but I don't know if he feels the same about me. I can't force him to be my lover.

I got up and went up to my sister's room to go tell her about the appointment, which had to be rescheduled due to the exams at the time. It took a lot of work on Mitsuru's part, and me but we got an appointment around the afternoon.

She soon opened the doors and I told her about the appointment. She lit up just a bit and went to go get dressed. "Go tell the others! Today's the day we learn the twin's genders!" she yelled and I left to go gather the others, except for Akihiko and Mitsuru, that is.

They all looked rather tired, so I thought that this might cheer them up a little. I didn't want them to be sad forever.

"The appointment's today, we finally get to see the genders!" I said with excitement. This was getting very exciting; I felt like a little child who just gotten a ton of Christmas presents.

They all perked up a lot when I said this and immediately began to talk to each other as we left for the hospital. Ryoji walked up next to me, asking about whether or not I had made up my mind about the date.

I nodded quickly, blushing madly and he chuckled.

"Heh, you must be pretty excited for this, Minato." he smiled as he rubbed my pregnant belly and giggled as the twins kicked his hand. They must like him already. I was still blushing; I couldn't help it, he was attractive, goddamnit!

He pointed behind him,

"Everyone else is so excited over this, it's crazy. Do they all have some kind of bet, Minato? They seem very competitive today." he asked, somewhat confused by my friend's behavior as he glanced over my shoulder a few times.

I nodded and rubbed my forehead a bit, annoyed slightly that they STILL had a bet going on. Can't they give it a rest already, it's getting annoying!

"Yeah, ever since I got my first ultrasound, they had this bet going on and now they have picked out names! I swear they're taking this a little too far! I need help, sure…" I stopped when we got to the hospital.

"I'll…tell you the rest later, Ryoji. C'mon, let's get inside, it's freezing out here!" I said, speed walking inside the door before anyone else. As I sat down on one of the chairs, I saw a mother and daughter couple talking about me and I soon felt nervous. They were talking about something, but I couldn't figure it out just they was saying.

Soon, the little girl came over and smiled at me and asked,

"Can I touch your belly?" I chuckled, "Of course, kid. You can touch, but the babies kick a lot."

"There's more than one baby inside you?" she asked. I nodded.

She went to touch my pregnant belly and squealed when one of the twins kicked her hand,

"It kicked, momma!" she looked back at her mother, who smiled and looked at me. She asked how far along I was and I soon learned she was pregnant too. I told her about the twin's dead father, Shinjiro and she became sympathetic.

"My daughter's father died before I learned I was pregnant with her, so I know what it's like not to have the father of your children around to see them." she said as she came over to sit down next to me. The brown haired woman asked for my name,

"You're…Minato Arisato?" she asked and I nodded. She paused before saying, in a somewhat quiet voice,

"Was the young man named Shinjiro Aragaki? That teen that got gunned down in the alleyway?"

I paused before slowly nodding yes and then the woman said something I did not expect…

"Shinjiro…he was my son…and I am his mother." she said quietly. I was surprised; Shinjiro had grown up in an orphanage his whole life until he came to the dorm.

I asked how she knew the name of my dead lover and she said, "I…was only 16 when I had Shinjiro and my then-boyfriend dumped me soon after he found out he was to be a father. My family was dirt poor and we had very little food, so I had to give up my son to the orphanage. I had no contact from him his whole life. And now, I never will get to know my son. He's gone forever…"

I made a mental note to tell this woman all about Shinjiro's life. I'd bring Akihiko and Souji-kun with me to tell their side of the story.

"So he never even knew you or his father…?" I asked and she nodded, a single tear falling down her face. Her daughter looked up at us in confusion; she didn't understand what we were saying.

"This is his half-sister, Selene. Her father was the one I told you about earlier a few minutes ago. She was born the week after my lover died. She's so energetic…" she said as her daughter ran over to my friends and sister. She seemed to welcome almost immediately.

She did seem rather…different than other kids I've seen like Maiko. Usually, they're very talkative at the age of 4, but she hadn't said too much when she had come over to me.

"Is she autistic or something?" I asked as gently as I could. She shook her head and answered,

"No, but she's very shy and has a bit of a speech impediment, other than that, she's fine."

I smiled and asked for her name,

"My name's Sabini. I was born in South Africa, so my name's a bit foreign. Other than that, I grew up here."

Just when it seemed like our conversation would go on forever, I heard my friends calling for me. I gave Sabini my cell number and left. I was sure to meet her again.

I smiled when the twins kicked me.

Elsewhere, when my friend Junpei hollered for us all when he had found the doctor and to my delight, it was Gino from before. He was also surprised from his tone of voice.

"Well, if it isn't Minato-kun. I'm rather surprised to see you here again." I nodded in agreement.

"I'd take that you were the one who rescheduled your appointment, Minato? I nodded again. He sighed as he walked me inside and I lay down on the bench. Everyone else sat wherever they could manage to sit. Junpei and Koromaru were forced to sit on the ground, Ken was sitting on Hamuko's lap, and Mitsuru was shoved next to Aigis, Fuuka and Yukari were smushed together next to the wall.

Needless to say, the room was very cramped for everyone except Minato and Gino. They both giggled and Gino started the machine up.

"Feels like I'm going under some sort of interrogation." I mumbled as the cold gel was spread over my stomach, the probe coming soon after. The image of my unborn twins soon appeared on screen.

"Let's see what gender these two kids are…" muttered Gino as he leaned over towards the screen. Everyone held their breath in anticipation as silence came over the room.

"Well, it looks like you're having twin girls, Minato." said Gino in a happy manner.

"Oh yeah, our team wins the bet! Eat it, suckers! Pay up!" yelled Junpei as he stood up, sending Koromaru to the floor in a hurry. He barked in annoyance. Fuuka smiled, "We were right after all…"

Akihiko said nothing and smirked slightly.

The others said nothing, but Mitsuru got out $10,000 yen and handed it over to Junpei who still was grinning widely. He continued to laugh as he checked the money.

"Looks like your friends had a bet on the genders." said Gino as he wiped off the gel on my stomach. I stood up with the knowledge that my twins were both girls like I thought it would be.

I smiled as we walked out of the hospital to the mall. Mitsuru said we'd be shopping for baby clothes, but did they even have a baby clothes store here in the mall?

We took some time and got some clothes when Ryoji came over to me,

"Hey, you want to go out, Minato? There's this really good restaurant over there." He smiled at me with such a smile that I said yes almost immediately. I said goodbye to the rest of my friends and the two of us left for the restaurant, which was rather fancy. Just much was Ryoji willing to do for me?

As we sat down in a private booth for two, he answered for me,

"You remember what I told you about the Shadows and whatnot, right?" I nodded,

"…I know this may sound crazy, but I…I know I'm the Apprasier and all, but there may be a way to separate me from Nyx." This caught me by surprise, but this was something I had been thinking about for a while. I wanted to free Ryoji from Nyx so badly I felt obsessed with the idea.

But Akihiko was worried; he said I needed to be more careful with the twins inside me. Lately, he had been avoiding my direct gaze and blushed whenever he stared at me. On the 6th of October, he had been awful protective of my health and me, even yelling at me to sit down. That look in his eyes I've never forgotten.

"Hey Minato!" yelled Akihiko's voice as he came inside the restaurant and sat down next to me. Right after that, the waiter came with our food. My choice of food was some gnocchi with some alfredo sauce. My mouth drooled a little bit.

Ryoji's choice was some chicken with a side of salad. Akihiko blinked, "I see you guys already ordered your food. Can I have some?" he asked as he put down his school bag and grabbed some of the salad and chicken. The plate was put in front of him by Ryoji and he began to eat some food. I smiled,

"You like it?" I asked as Akihiko nodded and swallowed his food.

"So, you two are trying to figure out a way to free you from Nyx, Ryoji?" asked my senpai after we had told him what we had been talking about. Ryoji sighed and nodded, telling him what he had told me and Hamuko earlier. Needless to say, he was both shocked and slightly scared. He gulped in nervousness and asked,

"So let me get this straight…you're the reason the world will come to an end?" Ryoji sadly nodded as he swallowed a piece of his food. The look of sadness and pain in his eyes made Akihiko feel pity for him.

Normal PoV

That made Akihiko make up his mind right then and there; he wanted to help Ryoji and Minato. Hamuko most likely knew about this as well.

But this was his first time that he had spoken to Ryoji since he had come to Gekkokan High School and the man was quite different than most people he had met. He felt his face flush red a little; Ryoji was quite attractive now that got a good look at him.

But he had already fallen hard for Minato, but had kept his distance when Minato had gotten together with Shinjiro. When he learned his crush was pregnant with his deceased friend's child, he vowed to protect Minato and fell even deeper in love with the bluenette. Doing everything in his power to help the one he loved, he did his best to help Minato.

But now he had fallen for Ryoji and his heart grew confused at this. Could he love two people at the same time?

"Hey Akihiko, you've been staring at us for the past two minutes now. Is something the matter?" asked Ryoji, snapping the boxer out of his thoughts. The silver haired teen sputtered and fumbled to come up with a response, but all he could get out was a jumbled mess of words.

Minato and Ryoji both giggled at him,

"Man, you must have been really daydreaming about something!" laughed Minato as he tried to swallow a bite of gnocchi. Ryoji smiled at Akihiko as he finished up what was left of his food.

Akihiko blushed and tried to say what was on his mind,

"_I really like both you and Minato, and I want to try something with you both. But I don't know if you'd want to be with me…"_ those were his thoughts and he glanced away from Ryoji's eyes and looked at Minato's seven month pregnant belly.

He wanted to be there for those girls as they grew up; he had vowed to be the father that Shinjiro would have been.

A loving, protective father…that had a nice ring to it, and he was doing everything he could to make Minato comfortable since that fateful night in October.

"Hey Akihiko…Ryoji…" began Minato.

Minato's PoV

Akihiko looked at me as I asked him and Ryoji,

"Do you both…um, like me…that way Shinjiro had loved me when he was alive?" I grabbed my head in frustration and growled,

"I like you both, damnit! I don't know why all of a sudden I have a crush on both of you, but it's driving me nuts! I…" Akihiko's finger on my lips silenced me and he began to speak about he had waited for me to say something like this for a long time. Ryoji soon said the same thing ever since he had seen me in the classroom not too long ago.

"Dude, if you wanted to say something, you didn't have to hold it all in all this time, ya coulda just told us!" said Ryoji as he moved closer to me. Akihiko sighed with relief; he didn't realize that he would be accepted by the one he'd thought he'd never get a chance with.

Dinner went smoothly and Akihiko was the one who paid for the bill and the three of us were on our way home…

' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' '

Aigis's PoV

"Mitsuru-san, I do not think that this would be a suitable shirt for either of the twins. It seems too…" I could not say anything else, as my voice seemed to have left me for the moment. She stared at me, and then stared back at the shirt before putting it back on the rack, leaving to go elsewhere.

Choosing a shirt for a human infant was harder than it looked…

Everyone else was looking for a shirt for the twins. I looked back at the shirt I had selected-a normal brown shirt with a small cat on the front, content and asleep. Would Minato-kun…like it?

I hoped he would.

As everyone had finally picked out their choices and bought them, we soon headed back to the dorm to wait for Minato and Akihiko to come back. Hamuko had said that Ryoji had some important news to discuss with us about the Dark Hour.

Ryoji…every time I saw him, I felt uneasy, as if he was a Shadow. But he looked human to me. I decided to confront him at some point in the near future.

"Hey Aigis, what's up?" asked Yukari as she came to walk beside me as we arrived at the Iwatodai Station. I looked at her, "Nothing much…I was wondering about Minato…he's been interacting with Ryoji far too much for my liking." I said as she raised an eyebrow in confusion, not understanding what I was saying.

She smiled and patted me on the shoulder,

"Don't worry about it, Aigis. It's probably nothing to worry about." she said as she looked at Fuuka-san.

Yukari-san had been staring at her a lot more than she had previously done in the past. I had asked Hamuko why she was acting so strangely and she told me that Yukari most likely had a crush on her.

"Love isn't just constricted to a male and female, Aigis, a man can fall in love with another man, and a woman can fall in love with another woman." she said and I thought of Minato, who had fallen for Shinjiro-senpai before he had been killed.

This brought my attention to a weird feeling that I was afflicted with since I had met Mitsuru-san at Yakushima.

' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' '

Normal PoV

Chidori sighed when Junpei cracked a lame joke to Souji, both of them laughing while she rolled her eyes. Just how had she fallen for this idiot anyway? She smiled as she heard Souji tell his own joke and watched Junpei laugh really hard.

Everyone smiled as they thought how Minato would feel after seeing all the baby clothes they had picked out for the twins. Minato, even though he wasn't fighting for the time being, still monitored how battles would go. He even stayed in school to try and get a high school degree. Minato had told them that he didn't want his girls growing up and dealing with the fact he had been just like any pregnant girl who dropped out to raise their child.

…They just hoped they hadn't bought too much….

Ken's PoV

After we had gotten back to the dorm, I immediately headed for the couch to rest my aching feet. As soon as I sat down, I reached for the remote to turn on the TV to watch Featherman R.

I didn't expect a furry four-legged friend to place himself on my chest.

"Koro-chan, get off!" I said, trying to move my head to be able to see the TV, but every time I moved my head, he moved his head. A frown came on my face,

"Koro-chan…" I tried to use my warning voice, but he still wouldn't budge or get off me. He placed his head on my face and I soon had a face full of fur. How I was able to breathe was unknown to me.

Just when I thought this situation couldn't get any worse, I heard Junpei's voice, though I was unable to see where it came from.

"Whoa Ken, do ya really think that having a face full of dog fur is good for ya…heh heh…" Junpei forced himself not to burst out into full laughter in front of an embarrassed me and oblivious Koromaru, who was wagging his tail in happiness. Just when I thought it couldn't get any worse…

…it did. "_Well, fuck."_

I heard the voices of Minato, Akihiko, and Ryoji coming in through the front door. And everyone else was coming down the stairs as well. "_God damnit! This ain't my day!"_

…"_Ken-kun, this doesn't look like…"_ piped up Kala-Nemi in my head in a rather cheerful voice as she struggled not to laugh at my predicament. I told her to shut up. She just laughed at me.

"Aww, this is too cute! Maybe I should go get my camera…" said Hamuko, hovering just behind me. I could feel her looking down at me and she petted Koromaru on the head and then petted me on the head like I was a dog or cat. She giggled at my flustered reaction when I tried to tell her, or attempt to tell her, that I hated it when she patted me on the head like that, it made me feel like a five year-old.

"Woof!" said Koromaru as he lifted his head off of my face, turning to sniff the air, which smelled rather burnt. Fuuka-san must have burned something in the kitchen again. That must be it…until I heard Fuuka's voice right next to me, "Um, I'm not the one who's burning food in the kitchen, it's Minato-kun. He went to get something to eat right after he, Akihiko-kun, and Ryoji-kun came home."

The one thing on my mind was that Minato was having weird cravings again…

Minato's PoV

11/6/2009 Evening.

"…Are you sure you want more food, Minato-kun? You just had food at the restaurant." asked one of new lovers, Akihiko as he leaned over to see what I was making. It was supposed to be a simple dish, but I had burnt it beyond recognition. Only Fuuka was supposed to burn food, damnit. My lover made a nervous laugh as he rubbed my belly,

"Don't worry about, Mina-chan. We cane get something from the fridge…" he said, trying to cheer me up as Ryoji was looking inside the pot, mumbling about how to try and clean it.

I was almost about to try making it again when I heard my Persona speak in my mind, "_Dude, don't do it. It ain't worth making the kids sick, yo…"_ said Orpheus as he strung a gentle melody.

He was most likely right and I was feeling rather full, too…so I went to bed early and I soon fell asleep as I hit the sheets.


	13. Chapter 13

What He left Behind

Chapter 13-Premonition

(Disclaimer: Pokemon belongs to Nintendo. Just an FYI.)

11/11/2009 Lunchtime

Minato's PoV

Man, this lunch that Ryoji made was awesome! I never knew he could cook so well! Akihiko's content sighs told me the same thing: he loved Ryoji's cooking! The twins liked it as well, responding with a strong kick to my stomach. They kick every time they like whatever food I eat. If they don't like what I eat, they gain up on my bladder.

This day was perfect so far, the wind was nice and it had a gentle breeze, one that wasn't too strong or too weak, but it was just right.

Although it _did_ keep blowing my hair in my face, just to spite me, I swear. Sadly, my hair was _just_ long enough for it to be affected by the wind and too short enough to tie up in a ponytail to keep it out of my face. Hamuko was smart, she kept her hair tied up in a short ponytail and a clip to pin whatever strands of hair were leftover. Why didn't I follow her example, damnit? Was I just too lazy? Shinjiro always wore that beanie hat to keep his hair out of his face, but it now stayed in the depths of my closet.

Fuuka's cooking was pretty good, too, she had gotten a lot better than the time she made me try her cooking back in June. A lot better, in my opinion. She usually just makes rice balls, though…it reminded me of the times I ate lunch with Shinjiro…

' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' '

_"Hey, Mina-chan, are you just going to eat rice balls all day? That ain't healthy, you know…you're not listening to me, are you? You have a bad habit of not listening when you eat, Minato…" said my lover as I happily chowed down on a honey-glazed rice ball, filled with vanilla and a little bit of nutmeg. Shinjiro raised an eyebrow when he saw the inner contents of my food and objected, and took it from my hand, making me bite down on my fingers rather hard. As I was wincing in pain, Shinji took something out of his bag. It was some sushi, complete with seaweed wrapped around it._

_"Thanks…" I said, eagerly chomping down on the new food, forgetting about the food my lover had just taken from me. He took a bite and made a disgusted face. He tossed it in a trashcan and pulled me closer and sighed._

_"Sometimes I wonder why you fell for me of all people…but…" he stroked a strand of my hair as he continued to speak, "…Then again, you'd ask the same question, Minato…" he added. I rested my head on his chest and closed my eyes. Just the two of us with no one to bother us or so I thought…_

_"Hey Minat-" yelled a voice that stopped mid-sentence. It was the sound of Junpei and he was staring right at us in shock._

_Oh great, this wasn't good…he could tell everyone in school and our secret relationship would be exposed._

_"What the heck?" was all he could say as he looked at me and Shinjiro, unable to mentally process the sight in front of him. Part of me wanted to knock him out cold right there, but I didn't and neither did Shinjiro._

_After we explained it to him, he agreed to keep quiet about it for the time being. He could be a blabbermouth at times, but he could keep his secrets if he had the restraint to do so. I introduced him to Shinjiro and the three of us went out for dinner._

_Sadly, our secret did not last for long when we came home later than normal past curfew. Mitsuru gave us both a lecture about being late. Neither of us really paid attention, however and we went back up to Shinjiro's room for a little fun._

_' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' '_

"Hey Minato, earth to Minato-kun! Come out of dreamland! Hello! We have delicious food!" Ryoji's hand waved in front of my face, snapping me out of my daydream. I shook my head and saw that the rest of the gang was here with their lunch as well.

Ryoji let out a laugh, explaining that I had been daydreaming and they asked no more and sat down to eat with us three. Lunch had gotten a lot more interesting with fun conversations about practically everything one could think of to talk about. Junpei and Souji were telling me about the newest videogame both of them had gotten-Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky. I smiled, remembering I had my own copy in my school bag.

Junpei said he was having trouble, but Souji said he was almost at the endgame, surprising his classmate. The former then proceeded to whine about how unfair life was and Souji merely patted him on the back. Chidori piped up and started to give him pointers.

Never knew Chidori was into video games. That's nice to know; playing with Junpei was starting to get a little boring. Ken was an okay gamer, but it was nice to have some new playmates for a change. I wonder what games she likes to play?

"Hey, Yuka-tan, come on man, that ain't fair! You must have cheated! You can't use that kind of attack!" I glanced over my shoulder to see Junpei and Yukari playing a match of Pokemon Platinum over Wi-Fi, Junpei getting frustrated over his lack of skill and Yukari giggling and laughing at Junpei's expense. How they managed to get a _connection_ in this school was beyond me; the computers had bad Internet connection and I could hardly get them to work.

If it wasn't for Hidetoshi's help, I'd be in major trouble. Man, can he work with a computer! I envy him.

I made a mental note to battle them over Wi-Fi later and began to eat my rice ball with Honey filling and glazed with vanilla extract. As I chowed down on my food, I could sense a few of my friends staring at me, most likely over my weird choice of food, but I didn't care about what they thought about my food. I'll eat what I want to eat, no one can stop me from doing so.

As I was about to eat the last bit of my rice ball, I felt a sharp pain in my fingers. After the pain subsided, I looked around to see that Koromaru had stolen the last piece and seemed rather smug about it. Not to be deterred, I chased after him to the best of my ability until I got tired.

Being seven months pregnant does a lot of bad things to your stamina. As I sat down to regain my energy, Ryoji came over to me and smiled, offering me a hand. He helped me stand back up and told me that lunch was over.

We walked back into the school building and went back to class.

' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' '

11/11/2009

Classtime

Souji's PoV

Man, this class is hard! Math was **not** one of my strong subjects. It certainly wasn't Shinjiro's best subject when he was alive, that's for sure. He hated math with a passion and I mean it. He ditched class whenever that class came up when we lived in happier times way back then.

My brother would always be the one to find him up on either the roof…or someplace that he couldn't jump up to, much to his annoyance.

So I tried to solve the problem, even though I had no damn clue how to solve it, to the best of my ability and I eventually came up with an answer that was most likely wrong and the teacher would chastise me in front of the whole class. After I was done, I got up and headed for the restroom. I saw all of Minato-senpai's friends and they waved to me one by one. As I walked down the stairs, I felt a little queasy all of a sudden and headed for the nearest object to throw up on-a bush and vomited.

"Hey, you okay, Souji?" asked a gentle voice. From how soft it sounded, the voice belonged to Chihiro Fushimi, the shy girl. She wiped my mouth and helped me back up onto my feet. "Thanks…" I said embarrassed as hell. She smiled at me,

"It was nothing…" she said. "But you were fine before lunch, why did you throw up?" she asked, confused.

I shrugged, remembering the sudden massive headache I had before my stomach decided to reject the contents of what I had eaten earlier.

"Just a headache…that's now coming back full force…" I said rubbing my head. Chihiro offered to take me to the nurse's office, but I declined her offer and went up to the rooftop to get some fresh air as she told me to do.

When I had gotten up there, I chose a shady spot that was out of the sun and sat down to rest and I closed my eyes. I began to remember one day I spent here with the orphanage…

' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' '

_5/27/2000_

_Evening, Souji's 7th birthday_

_Souji's PoV_

_As per one of the orphanage rules when someone has a birthday, they get to be taken to any place they want and so I chose the rooftop of the Gekkokhan High school. The view was amazing and it took my breath away. They did all this planning just for me? I was touched._

_Akihiko and Shinjiro thought otherwise; they weren't too impressed like I was, but they stayed by my side to make me happy and I liked that about them both. It was difficult for them to express their emotions, but they both had a kind heart._

_The orphanage owner came over to me and smiled, "Enjoying your birthday, Souji-kun?" she asked. I nodded eagerly with a smile of my own and began to talk about the whole day from when Shinjiro had somehow managed to bake a cake for me to the moment where Akihiko and Miki gave me a very adorable doll…one that looked like a cat. I had that very doll with me now tucked underneath my arm._

_I had even named him-Grey._

_The rest of the day went without incident. I spent the rest of the day with Akihiko, Miki, and Shinjiro playing tag and hide-and-go-seek until we all were exhausted. After we went into our room, Miki spoke up about something that I would remember forever._

_"Can you guys promise me something?" she asked quietly, almost in a whisper. "I…"_

_"What's up?" asked Akihiko as he rolled over onto his stomach._

_"Can you three promise me…that we'll stick together no matter what? I don't want to ever leave you…" she said with a sniffle._

_"Of course, you're our little sister! Of course we'll never leave you!" I said._

' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' '

I hated myself for saying that; I had unintentionally broke that promise and now she was missing and Shinjiro was dead. I fought the urge to cry. Shinjiro almost never cried, he almost never showed much emotion either.

"Hey Souji, wake up!" said Yukari as she shook me out of my daydream. I slowly sat up, groggy and half-asleep. I asked her what she wanted from me and she told me class had just ended. She helped me up and the two of us walked to our next class.

As we walked into the room, I could hear people talking about the nest field trip that would be held in Kyoto. Personally, I was excited for this trip; I really hadn't gone outside of Tatsumi Port Island all that much and this trip would be a welcome change. Minato-senpai was excited for it as well; he said he loved hot springs and his parents took him there all the time when they were alive. He said it was very soothing and relaxing, especially after a long day on your feet after walking around all day. With swollen ankles, I'd imagine it would feel very soothing on his feet.

Class soon started-it was the most boring subject ever that could be in school-Language Arts. I like reading as much as the next guy, but I prefer doing something art-related to be honest.

However, as I was working on a problem on the worksheet the teacher gave us, I began to have a very strange daydream. Suddenly, my vision was clouded with images of a very tall tower right in the area where my school was and there was a very large full moon out with something coming out of it. I could hear people screaming and getting slaughtered by monsters. What did this mean? I shook my head to get rid of the morbid thought and resumed the problem…


End file.
